The TiMbandAir Baby Helmet

Project brief

Invent Medical is dedicated to the personalisation and customisation of prosthetics and orthotics through advanced and innovative 3D printing/additive manufacturing processes. Much of their advancement and recognition in this field comes from their design and development of devices to be produced through Multi Jet Fusion.

The challenge

Orthoses and prostheses have been traditionally made using subtractive manufacturing processes, such as milling the model from a polyurethane foam coated with thermoplastic. For baby helmets, or cranial remoulding helmets, this process is time consuming and requires multiple devices while the baby grows.

Invent Medical use state-of-the-art software, hardware, and other innovations to continually improve how custom orthotics and prosthetics are made. This philosophy, applied to building cranial remoulding helmets, meant designing and creating a helmet which is economical to make, robust enough to fulfil its role, and yet gentle enough to be administered to small babies.

The Solution

The Multi Jet Fusion process is used to print a custom, personalised two-piece helmet, which is lined with removable foam of various thicknesses. The idea is that the helmet can be expanded as the baby grows, and yet will continue to gently manipulate the growth plates. The material used is PA 11, a powder nylon.

The baby’s head is scanned, and using state-of-the-art software created by Invent Medical, personalised CAD is created ready for print.

Once printed, the helmet is treated to PolyShot Surfacing, using DyeMansion technology, and coloured using biocompatible dyes.