People will soon be able to create their own prosthetic limbs with the opening of a new state-of-the-art facility in Lancashire.
A Fab Lab will form the centrepiece of Blackburn鈥檚 new Making Rooms facility, which is due to open in November, giving entrepreneurs and the general public access to the latest advanced digital manufacturing equipment, including 3D printers and laser cutters.
The three-storey building will be a hub for creative, artistic, digital and technological innovation and comes equipped with 拢250,000 of machinery.
Dr Eddie Kirkby is the director of Making Rooms and believes patients will use it to customise basic health equipment or build new ones.
Speaking ahead of 老九品茶Cloud鈥檚 聽鈥楾ransforming healthcare through technology鈥� conference on November 23 in Chorley,聽 he explained: 鈥淭he problem with assisted living devices like walking sticks and wheelchairs is they鈥檙e mass manufactured so they tend to be functional and clunky.
鈥淧atients want something that is designed for them and Making Rooms and the Fab Lab make that cost effective. What we鈥檙e doing is customising healthcare.
鈥淚f someone wanted to manufacture a prosthetic limb we could do that, but people could approach us for simpler things. For example we had a guy come in who has got one聽leg shorter than the other.
“The NHS give him three pairs of shoes a year with one of them built up by 10mm. He was going on a pilgrimage and he asked us if we could build up a pair of flip flops.鈥�
In nearby Royal Blackburn Hospital, a 拢1.1m 鈥榮uper surgeon鈥� – the Da Vinci Robot –聽is nearing its 100th operation since it first started being used in 2015.
Kirkby said early stage discussions had taken place with a number of clinicians to create 3D models from parts of a patient鈥檚 MRI scan so they can practise on it before the surgery takes place.
鈥淭echnology is hugely important to healthcare,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e able to do is personalise products for the public in a cost effective way.
“It could be a prosthetic hand or it could be a tin opener for someone suffering from arthritis.鈥�
The new facility has been been funded by Arts Council England, Blackburn with Darwen Council and the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.
It also includes artist studios, flexible workspaces, a caf茅, exhibition space and areas for workshops.