Ricoh USA, Inc. today announced its flagship Point of Care 3D medical device manufacturing facility – the RICOH 3D for Healthcare Innovation Studio. Through its mission to innovate and improve clinical outcomes and quality of life, the on-site Innovation Studio provides clinicians with easy and immediate access to development, design, and manufacturing services for patient-specific, 3D-printed anatomic models, which can be used for surgical planning and patient education. Located in Innovation Quarter, in downtown Winston-Salem, N.C., it is the first of many Point of Care 3D medical device manufacturing facilities that will be connected to a health system.
Patient care teams with limited access to 3D-printed anatomic models often see challenges related to workflow disruptions, lead time issues, resources, and regulatory compliance when attempting to acquire patient-specific anatomic models, which can impact the standard of patient care. The foundational mission of the RICOH 3D for Healthcare Innovation Studio aims to resolve these challenges by leveraging Ricoh’s HIPAA-compliant, ISO 13485-certified 3D medical device manufacturing center and Managed Services pedigree for the development, design, and production of 3D-printed anatomic models. Bringing patient-specific anatomic modeling directly into the hospital using Ricoh’s innovative technology ecosystem and quality management system provides clinicians with the availability and confidence of FDA-cleared devices.
The on-site center allows for faster production times, in-person access to clinical resources and 3D-printing expertise, as well as multidisciplinary team collaboration across national networks – providing clinicians and patients with a wider team of experts and support for enhanced care. In addition, the Innovation Studio helps to increase communication and feedback between the care team and Ricoh staff, drive innovation for personalized patient care, and focus on collecting data on the benefits of using 3D-printed anatomic models to help drive reimbursement.
“The RICOH 3D for Healthcare Innovation Studio is a foundational step in Ricoh’s long-term vision to lead the way in democratizing access to patient-specific, precision medical solutions in healthcare,” said Gary Turner, Managing Director, Additive Manufacturing, North America, Ricoh USA, Inc. “As we look to integrate and scale Point of Care facilities within health systems nationally, we’re extremely grateful that Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist has partnered with us to make the first facility a reality, and we look forward to growing 3D production within their network and in other hospital systems across the country.”
Ricoh 3D for Healthcare produces patient-specific anatomic models via additive manufacturing, using segmented 3D print files created from medical images in FDA-cleared applications. These models are used for diagnostic purposes in various medical fields, including craniomaxillofacial, orthopedic, cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and breast applications. With the ability to manage 3D-print operations at the point of care, the RICOH 3D for Healthcare Innovation Studio gives providers access to a streamlined and efficient solution for producing and obtaining these models. The new facility enables Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Wake Forest University School of Medicine to create a Medical 3D Printing Center of Excellence, in collaboration with Wake Forest Innovations and Innovation Quarter.
“As a leading academic learning health system, we are committed to leveraging technology that will benefit our patients, our faculty and staff, and our learners,” said Christopher T. Whitlow, MD, PhD, MHA professor and chair of radiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and a neuroradiologist at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. “This partnership will allow our health system and medical school to continue to elevate our clinical, research and education capabilities, and will open up new opportunities to collaborate with other departments across our organization.”
