Identification and application of innovative manufacturing methods in healthcare engineering

Abstract

This research work is to identify the potential opportunities and the present technical challenges for the application of innovative manufacturing methods in healthcare products. The healthcare engineering has created an environment, in which the advances in the life sciences are not only amenable to, but requires active participation of engineering design and manufacturing to achieve solutions for complex biological problems. Healthcare plays a vital role and growing at a faster rate in the western markets; it has charac teristics that differentiate it from other more newlineconvention al markets, and present challenges in both the application of current technologies and the development of new technologies. Medical researchers are seeking innovative manufacturing methods to produce healthcare products alike; artificial limbs, prosthetic, implants, customized orthotic device/ customized insoles, foot and surgical-planning models of internal body structures quicker and largely precisely. The current research approach is to undergo an extensive search on various health issues and healthcare products and identify a suitable product for the conduct of research. This research work is to identify the problem faced during the life cycle of humans and to study the problem in detail. It is identified that, diabetes mellitus is a major global health burden, and it is revealed that diabetic foot causes major complication to the diabetic population. The prevalence of foot disorders is growing at increased proportions in India and worldwide, mainly due to increase in the diabetic population and improper usage of foot wears. newline newline