Mexicans create low-cost 3D breast prostheses

A Mexican company prints custom 3D breast prostheses for patients who have undergone mastectomies . The prostheses are made with environmentally friendly materials and at a low cost.

Proyecto Cali

, the Mexican company, that has been working for over a year to find the ideal design for the breast prostheses, through the use of thermoplastic polyurethane, a material that is melted to create the pieces.

Erik Muñoz Arellan

o, the company's founder, explained that one of the advantages of the use of this material is its resistance to environments with an acidic pH.

In an interview with Conacyt , the student from the University of Guadalajara said that its composition helps to personalize the prosthesis, it can also be washed and it lasts for over five years.

Muñoz Arellano

emphasized that the design was made in collaboration with inMateriis , another Mexican company .

"We carried out a diagnosis to evaluate the scars caused by the mastectomies and with a three-dimensional scan we obtain an image of the thorax," he said.

"We also measure and weigh the healthy breast to obtain information, which is then used to develop a design with the necessary characteristics, and which can be printed," explained Erik Muñoz.

Alejandro Muñoz Arellano

, another member of Proyecto Cali, said that the first prototypes were tested in a group of 300 volunteers.

During the first stage, patients were given a generic prosthesis, to observe the reaction to the product, and to obtain information to improve the quality of the product.

In the next phase, the improvements were applied, the customized prostheses were tested. They worked with five volunteers, and they made customized pieces adapted to the specific characteristics of each mastectomy.

The emerging company is already processing the patent to register their prosthesis design, which would cost between MXN $3,500 and MXN $4,500.

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