URI students, hospital and software firm join forces in 3-D brace development

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Students from the University of Rhode Island are teaming up with a Rhode Island Hospital doctor and the software company Dassault Systemes Simulia Corp. to create a scoliosis brace.

Braces for those with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, are often awkward and uncomfortable – yet still need a secure fit in order to position the spine correctly.

Mechanical engineering students Gabriella Devine of East Greenwich, Thomas Brey of Manorville, N.Y., and Dan Cross of Northborough, Mass., and Christopher Viveiros of Attleboro, Mass., are collaborating to create a new brace as their senior capstone project.

The mechanical engineering students hope to have a prototype ready by April.

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Following X-rays, the students will use a 3-D scanner to get the patient’s precise body shape – “and that, we hope, will result in a brace that is completely personalized and form-fitting, yet still effective,” says Viveiros. The plastic brace prototype will be made with a 3-D printer.

“We’re trying to make something a little more discreet – and breathable,” he said.

Said Brey, “Right now, 3-D printing is pretty much used just to make prototypes. We’re trying to bring 3-D printing into the mainstream to produce an actual product that meets industry standards.”

In addition to SIMULIA, the students are also receiving guidance from Dr. Craig Eberson, chief of the division of pediatric orthopedics at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence.

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