Smart Molding International 1-2022

40 additive manufacturing smart_molding international 1/2022 W eMed, a French startup founded during the Covid- 19 pandemic, specializes in designing devices for telemedicine. After discovering the need for remote diagnostic medical devices to relieve pressure in hospitals, WeMed part - nered with Nexa3D to help produce the SKOP™ 3D printed stethoscope. SKOP was conceptualized during the first lockdown in France, in April 2020. During this period, healthcare workers were living the reality of what we saw on television: people with Covid-19 were in intensive care or sent home without any possibility of medical fol - low-up, due to the risk of infection. To help mitigate this, WeMed wanted to create a stethoscope that allows access to a truly remote medical di - agnosis, to help substitute the visit to the doctor’s office. The SKOP is the first cardiopulmo - nary auscultation medical device in - tended for both healthcare profes - sionals and the general public. The device’s acoustic qualities are made possible by cochlear technology that WeMed has developed, inspired by the human ear using biomimicry de - sign concepts. The goal was to make SKOP universal, in its ease of use, connecting to all tablets or phones, as well as telemedicine and commu - nication platforms such as FaceTime, WhatsApp, and Zoom. The challenge WeMed wanted to create a device that is easy to use, universal, and above all financially accessible. Selling a re - mote stethoscope between 500 and 1500 euros means that the general public would have minimal access to this technology. To suggest that every family will have a stethoscope in their medical cabinet was, although useful in these troubled times, economically unattractive. This meant that SKOP needed to be produced at a low cost to ensure its universality. To increase speed of production and relieve pressure on healthcare, WeMed wanted to make the SKOP as quickly as possible, producing at high volumes and speeds, while maintain - ing quality. WeMed’s partner Third, a contract manufacturer brought on to leverage its expertise in additive manufacturing to the project, faced a dilemma between production volume and maintaining part quality. While medical devices require irreproachable quality and re - producibility, acoustics is a science that relies on precision and a large produc - tion volume was key for this project. To help meet these challenges, reseller Hava3D introduced Third to Nexa3D as the solution. Nexa3D suggested a technology that offered precision, speed, and reproducibility in one — the NXE 400. After realizing these combined advantages, Third brought Nexa3D into the project. “Nexa3D seemed seduced by the SKOP project and knew how to respond to our expectations, asking its partners to manufacture resins specific to our needs,” explained Cyrille Lecroq, CEO of WeMed. “The company’s investment WeMed from France partnered with Nexa3D to help produce SKOP™ — the world’s first 3D printed stethoscope which was adapted for remote medical diagnosis. The device offers the competitive advantages of high-quality 3D printed parts, high- volume production capacities on very short time scales, and an accessible per part cost for industrial production. Additive manufacturing makes a mark on medical device production