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Short description
The 3D footplate is a non-commercially viable tool to assist medical imaging of complex hindfoot pathologies. This 'Class I Medical Device' helps to position and fixate the foot to the lower leg, allowing clinical stress tests to be simulated during CT scans. The medicla image acquired can provide quantitative displacements of bones.
What is the 3D Footplate and how can it help in clinical practice?
Currently, laxity and instability of the hindfoot is diagnosed through manual stress tests by a clinician. However, for complex hindfoot problems they cannot distinguish instability on joint level, nor provide quantitative data for preoperative planning. Therefore, a 3D CT-stress test has been developed to obtain quantitative data of the relative positions of the bones (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2008.02.020). This test mimics the manual stress test as follows: the 3D Footplate allows positioning of the foot relative to the lower leg and holds this position while performing a CT scan (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2011.10.006). The foot can be readjusted to a new position to acquire additional imaging. The 3D Footplate has been evaluated for usability (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2011.10.006) and is meant to be cleaned and disinfected, but does not have to be sterilised for use. See also https://www.utwente.nl/en/et/be/news-events/2025/6/197708/open-source-accelerates-tools-for-small-patient-groups#the-3d-footplate
Why do we provide the material for the 3D Footplate open source?
The development and market introduction of medical devices often require a lot of time and cost. In addition to compliance with strict Medical Device Regulation, financing and drawing up a business case are also major challenges. Especially for devices aimed at small patient groups or rare diseases, it is difficult to set up a profitable revenue model. As a result, many innovative tools never reach the users who could benefit from them. The 3D Footplate is such an example.
creapunk
Neil means
Giulio
Orlando Hoilett