3D Laser Scanning Services and Orthotic Therapy

3D laser scanning services have created a tidal wave in the medical industry. However, what we don’t typically think about is our feet. After a long day or work, we may think about them or how bad the arches and heels of our feet hurt, but not until then. 

Podiatrists are foot doctors whose primary focus is ensuring that your feet are healthy. One of the best ways to do that is by creating customized insoles for your shoes. 

How do they do this? By using 3D laser scanning services to gather precise information on your feet. It can help gather the width, size, depth of your arches, and other things you may not even think about. In addition, having customized insoles can be imperative for healthy feet, especially if you’re working all day. 

This process is easy, and most patients have one to two more follow-ups to see how the change in insoles affects them. Then the patients will have another appointment 12 months after the insoles are created. Many other types of products can be made as well.

The types of products that can be made

With the help of 3D laser scanning combined with printing, doctors can collect valuable information on more than just your feet. They can collect data on your ankles as well. As a result, they can create insoles and ankle-foot orthoses or AFO. 

Ankle-foot orthoses are created to be like a cast that runs up your ankle and sometimes stops at the knee. They are meant for people with injuries or lower limb impairments. After the limb is scanned, the information can go to a CAD (computer-aided design) program to be edited and printed. 

How 3D laser scanning works

The patient needs to step on a box-shaped pedestal that is the 3D laser scanner for this process. It uses sensors and lasers to measure a person’s foot. The lasers are being measured by how far they travel until they are reflected. Small details get picked up, and the entire process is incredibly fast. 

All of the information is saved in the cloud, making it an excellent place for doctors to store data and keep it a future reference. Any doctor they have to keep specific information for a few years. 3D laser scanning can help them save physical space by saving it digitally. 

Once all of the information is saved, it is sent to CAD to be edited and customized. From there, it gets sent to a printer. The 3D printer will read the file like coordinates, and layer by layer will print material. 

Final thoughts

There are so many wonderful projects and doctors who have adopted 3D laser scanning services. It is helping change lives around the world and is providing better ways to treat people. It is one of the best ways to develop a treatment plan and allows doctors to have more insight into a person, especially their feet.