Using advanced manufacturing to lower the cost of customizable assistive health care devices

红鹿理工学院(RDP)提出的“利用先进制造来降低可定制辅助医疗设备的成本”的建议，其目的既是为了增加艾伯塔省生产医疗设备的公司数量，也是为了增加有需要的人的负担能力和选择。这是一个复杂的问题，有许多不同的解决方案。与艾伯塔省创新者和产业界的协商强调，需要一个综合的团队办法来解决这一问题。一些支持医疗保健设备的组织也指出，创新者缺乏知识和/或获得先进制造解决方案的机会。在这项提案中，研究方法将依赖于一个多方面的专家团队。临床医生、制造专家、商业专家、健康研究人员和行业将在设计、验证、市场评估和制造可行性方面进行合作，以推动健康设备取得商业成功。这项研究将把新的方法应用到设备的设计和制造中。RDP的制造创新中心-技术接入中心(CIM-TAC)拥有帮助这些创新者所需的先进制造工具和软件。RDP的CIM-TAC将与综合团队协调研究。技术人员、工程师、学生和教职员工将主要协助设备的制造/原型制作，但也会进行验证和经济分析。这种综合方法加上先进的制造中心，在艾伯塔省是独一无二的。该提案的另一个独特之处是终端制造商参与了这一过程。这项工作的结果将是开发和商业化可定制的辅助保健设备的路线图，以造福于那些需要它们的人。

The objective of Red Deer Polytechnics's (RDP) proposal "Using advanced manufacturing to lower the cost of customizable assistive health care devices" is to both increase the number of companies manufacturing health care devices in Alberta and to increase the affordability and selection for those that need them.This is a complex problem with many different solutions. Consultation with Alberta innovators and industry highlighted the need for an integrated team approach to solving this problem. Several organizations that support health care devices, also noted that the innovators lacked either the knowledge and/or the access to advanced manufacturing solutions. The research approach, in this proposal, will rely on a multi-faceted team of experts. Clinicians, manufacturing experts, business experts, health researchers, and industry will collaborate on the design, validation, market assessment and manufacturing viability to drive health devices to commercial success. The research will apply new methodologies to the design and manufacture of devices. RDP's Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing - Technology Access Centre (CIM-TAC) has the advanced manufacturing tools and software required to assist these innovators. RDP's CIM-TAC will coordinate the research with the integrated team. The technicians, engineers, students and faculty members will assist predominately in the manufacturing/prototyping of the devices, but also with validation and economic analysis. This integrated approach coupled with an advanced manufacturing centre is unique in Alberta. Also unique to the proposal is the involvement of the end manufacturers in the process. The outcome of this work will be a roadmap for developing and commercializing customizable assistive health care devices for the benefit of those that need them.