The 3D printed surgical fracture table

Background: Each year, over 100 million new fractures occur worldwide due to increased aging populations, injury and trauma. Many of these can effectively be treated surgically if hospitals have access to the necessary equipment. In many resource-constrained settings, however, essential equipment like surgical fracture tables needed for safe and effective limb positioning and repair are often inaccessible due to prohibitive costs and limited availability of replacement parts. This contributes to delays in surgical care delivery, prolonged disability, preventable complications and increased strain on the healthcare systems. To address this gap, an open-source surgical fracture table which relies on 3D printing was developed. Objective: The objective of this research is to redesign the open-source surgical fracture table to improve its ease of fabrication and usability in clinical settings. Methods: A human-centred design approach was adopted to guide the redesign process. Assessment was done to identify mechanical, ergonomic, usability and fabrication limitations of the original open-source surgical fracture table. Table refabrication is currently underway with updated components being 3D printed using desktop-size 3D printers. This will be followed by complete assembly, mechanical testing and user validation to evaluate performance, safety and ease of use. Results: The redesigned surgical fracture table is expected to demonstrate improved mechanical performance including stability and angular adjustments while maintaining clinical functionality. By leveraging open-source principles and locally accessible components, this project aims to provide an accessible and customizable alternative to commercial fracture tables which will contribute to increasing access to orthopedic trauma care in resource-constrained settings at a fraction of the conventional costs.

Author dc:creator

• Nansubuga, Rebecca Kaaya

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Pearce, Joshua

• Fractures
• Orthopedic Equipment
• 3D Printing

Language dc:language.iso

en_ca

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/39767

OAI record oai:identifier

https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Auwo.scholaris.ca%3A20.500.14721%2F39767