ABOUT

o   Custom orthopedic implant designer

o   Designed 100+ additively manufactured foot and ankle implants (ebm titanium), including guides and trials (sls nylon) for patients with trauma, cancer, disease, failed/failing implants…

o   Some of the implants I designed were total and partial talus replacement, total ankle replacement, total ankle fixation cages, navicular replacement, fracture plating, metatarsal, calcaneus replacement. Depending on the implant we included articulation surfaces, screw holes, lattice for bone in-growth, staples, suture holes, IM nails…

o   Software: Utilized Materialize 3matic for polygon/mesh modeling implant design, Materialize Mimics for CT scan Viewing and Segmentation (converts x-ray to cad model), and SmartSheet for case management on a daily basis. To a lesser extent used nTopology for lattice generation. Adobe illustrator for technical drawings.

o   Designing implants required high attention to detail and accuracy. I learned anatomy, communication in medical terminology, and the ability to read/interpret X-rays. Trained to manually realign anatomy in cad to a neutral weight bearing foot position, and sensitivity to what correct anatomical alignment looks like.

o   Throughout the design process for every implant, I collaborated with clinical engineers, quality engineers, sales reps, and surgeons. Assisted other teams with process validation. Contributed to and helped maintain design standards. Participated in cadaver labs. Helped quality develop ergonomic testing for instrumentation and located research papers and ergonomic standards for data comparison.

o   Developed detailed step by step work instructions for designing our custom implants to capture intangible IP and reduce the burden of on-boarding. Created flowcharts to map out the variety of implants we make and the associated options for each implant type. Developed illustrator templates for technical drawings.