Floyd Brace Company is all about their patients. With six locations throughout South Carolina, they are trusted to reliably provide orthotic and prosthetic care in the community. Jared McNeill, CPO and Larry Wiley, CP have dedicated themselves to changing lives at Floyd Brace Company, timely creating custom prosthetics. Most of all, Floyd’s practitioners love finding new ways to enhance processes. “We can definitely use technology to be more efficient,” said McNeill.
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Implementing the Galileo 3D printer in their clinic has created even more opportunity for McNeill and Wiley to focus on patient care while maintaining efficiency. Since joining the Galileo Program in December, the Floyd crew has printed almost 70 test sockets and counting at just their Georgetown location! “The greatest thing about the test sockets is that they free up a lot of time,” said McNeill. “Way more than the carver does. You can just set it and forget it on the printer, whereas carving is a lot more hands on.”
“The greatest thing about the test sockets is that they free up a lot of time... You can just set it and forget it on the printer."
While a print does take time, working with the Galileo program’s digital technicians makes it easy to create a workflow so when one socket is completed, the next is already in the printer queue and ready to go. Protosthetics recommends printing below knee sockets during the day so two or three can be completed. Then, above knee sockets can print overnight and be ready first thing in the morning.
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Most orders have gone through McNeill to get printed thus far. He has his whole team casting and scanning the inside of the cast, and then he uses CAD to modify the BKs before sending them to the printer. But Wiley recently began engaging more with the printer as well. “Jared is busy trying to get everything done between all the offices. I love having stuff to do and would like to get involved with the machinery myself,” Wiley recounts. “And I like the printed test sockets. The fit is pretty darn close to the final!”
Wiley provides his measurements and scans to the Galileo digital design team so they can modify the orders based on his preferences and design order forms. “Sockets by the numbers are ridiculously easy to do,” said Wiley. “And I like that we can take different approaches for different patients.”
"I like that we can take different approaches for different patients."
Now that both McNeill and Wiley have the process down for regularly printing check sockets, they are eager to explore even more effective and creative uses of the printer. The path to producing innovative solutions is paved by asking questions. One thought on McNeill’s mind is: “Is there an option to print a flexible inner with a check socket?” These types of questions allow clinicians to get creative with the digital design & printing process and learn what magic the Galileo designer team can make happen.
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McNeill has been pushing the Galileo team to experiment with a variety of options to continue integrating the benefits of 3D printing. He’d like to see a sort of geometry, locking the inner liner and the check socket together. “Maybe have a couple of cutout circles, or have a square or ridge on the liner that locks into the laminated socket. This would be a great way to reduce weight and prevent the socket from moving around.”
The Protosthetics team excitedly agreed. They will actually be launching a brand new Galileo order form that includes an option to choose both a flexible inner and a shell to be printed with the same design. From there, they can absolutely create locking mechanisms, such as the cutout shapes and ridges on the brim, to stick the pair together. By including the ridges, laminating over the flexible inner with a carved out foam block, and using Meshmixer for modifying below knee sockets, Floyd Brace Company is taking their prosthetics to the next level.
In the end, it’s all about the patient and getting them the best quality prosthetics a 3D printer can offer. McNeill and Wiley are excitedly taking the printer to the next level and getting creative with the possibilities.
Protosthetics was the first central fab facility in the United States to be based solely on 3D printing and CAD/CAM manufacturing. Using this technology means lower costs, shorter lead times, and repeatable, predictable quality each and every time. The introduction of the Galileo System is now bringing 3D printing revolution directly to O&P practices in a new, cost-effective way. Learn more about getting Galileo in your office by reaching out to galileo@protosthetics.com
World class technology, outstanding knowledge, and personal service has made Floyd Brace Company leaders in the fields of Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Pedorthotics and a name South Carolina residents trust since 1942. The Board Certified prosthetists, orthotists and pedorthists at Floyd Brace Company are qualified to provide and/or supervise the assessment, treatment plan development and implementation, follow-up and practice management of people using prescribed orthoses.
Darren Jacoby
Protosthetics
Tel: +1-701-478-2001
Email: galileo@protosthetics.com
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