"Point-of-Care Manufacturing"

Abstract

Maker culture is on the rise in healthcare with the adoption of consumer-grade fabrication technologies. However, little is known about the activities and resources involved in prototyping medical devices to improve patient care. In this paper, we refer to such activity asmedical making to report findings based on a qualitative study of stakeholder engagement in physical prototyping (making) experiences. We examine perspectives from diverse stakeholders including clinicians, engineers, administrators, and medical researchers. Through 18 semi-structured interviews with medical-makers in the US and Canada, we analyze making activity in medical settings. We find that medical makers share strategies to address risks, adopt labor roles, and acquire resources within traditional medical practice. Our findings outline how medical-makers mitigate risks for patient safety, collaborate with local and global stakeholder networks, and overcome constraints of co-location and material practices. We recommend a clinician-aided software system, partially-open repositories, and a collaborative skill-sharing social network to extend their strategies in support of medical making.

Style2Fab: Functionality-Aware Segmentation for Fabricating Personalized 3D Models with Generative AI

“…"Medical Making" [25] and "DIY Assistive Technology" [4] are emerging and critical domains for personalized fabrication by nontechnical experts. Social accessibility research [46] shows that considering both the aesthetic and functional features of medical/assistive devices increases their adoption.…”

Soft Hand Exoskeletons for Rehabilitation: Approaches to Design, Manufacturing Methods, and Future Prospects

“…This review also wants to motivate future designers to work in interdisciplinary solutions, taking into consideration multiple initiatives related to the implementation of makerspaces within the facilities of healthcare institutions, enabling the high reception and adoption of digital fabrication methods in society, and specifically, in healthcare [33][34][35][36][37][38].…”

Makerspaces Fostering Creativity: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Due to their application and significant impact in various disciplines and fields, literature has directed attention to countless aspects of makerspaces. Specifically, studies have examined their influence on domains such as economics (Prendeville et al, 2016), entrepreneurship (Guerra & deGómez, 2016), public libraries (Brady et al, 2014), design education (Becker, 2016;Georgiev, 2019;Soomro & Georgiev, 2020), medical practices (Lakshmi et al, 2019), higher education (Love, 2022;Ylioja et al, 2019), sustainability (Soomro et al, 2021), and STEM education (Yin et al, 2020). Many studies on makerspaces consider them places that affect creativity and help users such as students, designers, architects, engineers, and health care workers brainstorm creative solutions to real-life problems (Blikstein et al, 2017;Carulli et al, 2017;Duenyas & Perkins, 2020;Giannakos & Divitini, 2016;Glenn et al, 2020).…”