June 6, 2024
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Ricoh USA Launch 3D Printing Medical Device Manufacturing Studio in Innovation Quarter
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Ricoh USA, Inc. today announced the Ricoh 3D for Healthcare Innovation Studio, a first-of-its-kind manufacturing facility, located in One Technology Place in Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter.
In partnership with clinicians and researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the on-site Innovation Studio provides easy and immediate access to development, design and manufacturing services for patient-specific, 3D-printed anatomic models which can be used for pre-surgical planning and patient education.
“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 Dr. Christopher T. Whitlow, professor and chair of radiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and a neuroradiologist at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. “This partnership allows our health system and medical school to continue to elevate our clinical, research and education capabilities, and opens up new opportunities to collaborate with other departments across our organization and with clinicians across the Atrium Health system.”
In addition to being Ricoh 3D for Healthcare’s partner in bringing point-of-care 3D medical device manufacturing to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, the studio also has future potential to offer ecosystem participants – such as startups and entrepreneurs – throughout the Innovation Quarter to access state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to help power their ideas.
“The Ricoh 3D for Healthcare Innovation Studio is an incredible value-add to what is a growing community of life sciences companies and resources here,” said Isaac Perry, head of life sciences and ecosystem development for the Innovation Quarter and Greater Winston-Salem, Inc. “The kind of technology Ricoh 3D for Healthcare has at its fingertips is truly game-changing and we can’t wait to see what collaborations come out of this partnership.”
Ricoh 3D for Healthcare produces patient-specific anatomic models through an FDA cleared process via additive manufacturing, using segmented 3D print files created from medical images. These models are used for diagnostic pre-surgical planning in various medical fields, including craniomaxillofacial, orthopaedic, 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.
