KopfOrthese

Development of an additively manufactured, telemedically monitorable head prosthesis with integrated sensors. R&D sub-project: Development of the sensor technology, its arrangement in the head prosthesis and the optical recording of the head shape

Head orthoses are used to correct head deformities in babies and small children over a period of several months. Undesirable complications that can occur if these orthoses do not fit properly range from pressure points to inflammatory changes in the sensitive baby skin and deeper layers within the head. At present, the fit of such orthoses can only be monitored to a very limited extent during the course of treatment. Against this back-ground, the partners are jointly developing a head prosthesis whose 3D printing pro-duction will integrate a sensor system for measuring pressure, moisture and temperature and develop a readout and evaluation function to support monitoring.

As part of the project consortium, the ILK is working on the development of an option suitable for orthopaedic manual work for the rapid geometric recording of the patient's head shape, taking into account the compressed hair. The second focus of the R&D work is functional integration. For this purpose, suitable sensor function principles were derived based on the requirements, investigations were carried out to determine the suitability of selected sensors and a sensor concept for the head orthosis was developed. In the next steps, the readout function and a sensor data-based evaluation method for monitoring the head orthosis will be developed. At the end of the project, the novel sensor system will be integrated into the orthosis structure and validated experimentally.