Systems and Methods for Remote Manufacturing of Medical Devices
AssigneeBiomet Manufacturing, LLC
InventorsMukesh Kumar, Jacy Hoeppner, Konstantin Caploon
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for remote manufacturing of medical devices are provided. The system can be installed at a facility (e.g., at a hospital or other medical facility), and includes a remote manufacturing unit (RMU) that allows for customized, rapid fabrication of medical devices at the medical facility using suitable manufacturing techniques such as three-dimensional (3D) printing, additive manufacturing, subtractive manufacturing, etc. The RMU can communicate with a computer system which presents a healthcare professional with a digital catalog of medical products, and allows the healthcare professional to select and customize a desired device to be manufactured at the facility.
Claims38
A system for manufacturing medical devices, comprising:
- a manufacturing unit installed at a medical facility, the manufacturing unit including a manufacturing subsystem for manufacturing medical devices and a controller for controlling the manufacturing subsystem;
- and
- at least one computer system in communication with the manufacturing unit, the at least one computer system presenting a healthcare professional with a digital catalog of medical devices, allowing the healthcare professional to select a desired device from the digital catalog of medical devices, and transmitting instructions for manufacturing the selected device to the manufacturing unit at the medical facility, for subsequent manufacturing of the selected device by the manufacturing unit.
A method for manufacturing medical devices, comprising the steps of:
- displaying at a computer system a digital catalog of medical devices;
- allowing a user of the computer system to select a desired device from the digital catalog of medical devices to be manufactured at a medical facility;
- transmitting instructions for manufacturing the desired device from the computer system to a manufacturing unit installed at the medical facility;
- and
- manufacturing the desired device at the medical facility using the manufacturing unit.
A remote manufacturing unit for manufacturing medical devices at a remote facility, comprising:
- a network communications subsystem for receiving a digital instruction file from a computer in communication with the remote manufacturing unit;
- a manufacturing subsystem for manufacturing medical devices;
- a controller in communication with the network communications subsystem and the manufacturing subsystem, the controller processing the digital instruction file and instructing the manufacturing subsystem to manufacture a medical device in accordance with instructions in the digital instruction file;
- an inspection subsystem for inspecting medical devices manufactured by the manufacturing subsystem;
- a sterilization subsystem for sterilizing devices manufactured by the remote manufacturing unit;
- and
- a packaging subsystem for packaging devices manufactured by the remote manufacturing unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.