Materialise/GOGOA
GOGOA, the maker of the HANK lower-limb exoskeleton, is using 3D printing technology for prototyping and small series manufacturing via Materialise.
The company was introduced to 3D printing via a HP start-up programme, with HP later putting GOGOA in contact with Materialise who has experience leveraging Multi Jet Fusion technology for medical applications.
HANK has been designed to support patients recovering from spinal cord injuries, neurodegenerative diseases or cerebrovascular accidents like strokes by assisting them to walk again. The exoskeleton encourages neuroplasticity, which allows the brain to change over time, while also stimulating motor neuron reprogramming, whereby the patient’s muscles and neural pathway are gradually reprogrammed to activated with lower or distorted electrical signals sent from the brain to the affected areas of the body.
These factors enable patients to gradually regain mobility based on repetition and slight adjustments to the user’s gait pattern, and helps to cut down on recovery time. To help GOGOA achieve its own time reductions, the company turned to 3D printing technology.
GOGOA is a Spanish start-up which designs and develops exoskeletons to improve people’s quality of life. It has become the first European country to obtain the CE mark for the Hank exoskeleton for the rehabilitation of lower limbs. The company believes it has one of the best robotic technologies in the field of rehabilitation, adapted to current social needs.
SOLUTION
Harnessing the technology for rapid prototyping, GOGOA created personalised plastic 3D printed parts that integrated with metallic components in the exoskeleton in a matter of weeks. Design experts at Materialise also assisted GOGOA with optimising designs for the 3D printing process, and also offered support with the paperwork for the ISO 13485 certification. This certification provides GOGOA with new business opportunities, and allows them to use HANK in their MOVEX CLINICS and other medical facilities worldwide.
“As we’re the first European exoskeleton company that’s CE-certified, having a local supplier familiar with the regulation around producing such specialised medical equipment is a real benefit.” – Galder Arego, Business and Brand Strategist at GOGOA.
With the combination of Multi Jet Fusion and PA12 material, GOGOA was able to achieve rapid prototyping and design iteration; benefit from a flexible, lightweight material with excellent finishing properties; and enact custom small series production.
IMPACT
Materialise/GOGOA
The result is a custom, lightweight exoskeleton that ‘perfectly’ integrated with a patient’s gait pattern. One that, not only uses 3D printing for almost all of its exterior components and elements inside the battery pack, but was built with additive in mind.
“We modelled the design in 3D and created the prototypes using AM, trying different moulds and redesigns to perfect the skeleton,” commented Galder Arego, Business and Brand Strategist at GOGOA. “3D printing is great for prototyping and small series manufacturing: if we tried the same process with injection moulding, it simply wouldn’t have worked.”
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“HANK is an exoskeleton that truly integrated perfectly with the patient – transferring just the right forced and gait pattern to the user,” added Carlos Fernándex, CEO and Founding Partner of GOGOA. “Other exoskeletons are not as accurate at transferring this information. With 3D printing, we achieved a product that significantly affects patient recovery times and positive outcomes.”
Approximately 15 customised parts were 3D printed for HANK, which includes components for the backpack, support for the braces around the foot, ankle, and thigh, and the connectors. The GOGOA team was able to choose from various materials with different mechanical characteristics, which helped to speed up the design and manufacturing process, and is now continuing to experiment as it refines HANK ahead of the development of its HANK+ product.
“HANK+ uses the same basic framework and 3D printed parts – like the grips, connectors, and backpack holds – that HANK uses,” said Fernándex. “Yet we managed to streamline the design, add some external lights to help patients navigate darker environments, and even make it more aesthetically appealing.”
