REHAB LAB (disability & 3D printing)
About this good practice
A Rehab‐lab is a fab‐lab integrated in a healthcare organisation where
people with disability can design their own assistive devices using 3D
printing.
The initiative was launched at the rehabilitation centre of Kerpape in
2016.
Stakeholders involved in the case :
Centre Mutualiste de Rééducation et de Réadaptation Fonctionnelles
de Kerpape & its Rehab Lab 4 all network
-31 Rehab Lab have were created in France
‐ More than 1063 assistive devices have been codesigned by
patients together with healthcare professionals.
-704 patients were followed
‐ A common charter has been adopted by the French REHABLABs.
This charter provides a formal operating framework to
share values and processes related to citizen/patient
involvement.
3D printing is a promising solution for the design of assistive devices in
the context of health and care systems. Compared to non‐digital
fabrication processes, it has a lot of benefits: accessibility (to let
citizens/patients design their own assistive devices simply by having
access to a computer), adaptation (ease of design by changing
parameters on an existing object), cloning (ease of reproduction by
reprinting the object), design (possibility to choose colour and shape),
weight (control by the 3D printer infill parameter), cost and time
(considering both materials and the 3D printer), materials (large
number of innovative and environment‐friendly materials,
biodegradable/bio‐sourced).
Expert opinion
This project applied 3D printing into a rehabilitation care facility allowing patients to co-design their assistive devices. The project leveraged a bottom-up approach to get end-users part of the design process. This know-how has been coded into a formal operating framework to share values and processes related to citizen/patient involvement. The good practice has been already transferred to other EU countries. The cost-effective budget helps to replicate this practice in regions that have a Fab-Lab and a rehabilitation facility. Due to the open-innovation culture of Fab-labs the replicability of this good practice can be extended to a broad range of EU regions, exploiting the formal operating framework from Bretagne region, France.
Resources needed
Budget The cost to set up a Rehab‐lab in 12 months is as follows:
For creation : 17 100€
1st year of activity : 7300€
2d year of activity : 4000€
Evidence of success
REHAB LAB was created in 2016.
Sustained at EU level by:
1st project : REHAB-LAB-4U community (supported by the 1st DHE Twinning)
2d project : REHAB-LAB-4ALL aims to enlarge the emerging network
Success : cf figures in transferability section.
Potential for learning or transfer
Now a REHAB-LAB is fully operational. Its know-how (and experience) was already transferred to in full operation and transfer has been completed to 15 other institutions in France and is still presently being transferred to 3 european countries (Belgium, Denmark and Italy) thanks to the DHE 1st call for Twinnings.
The DHE twinning will allow the transfer to 6 adopters with different maturity levels:
1. Villa Rosa Rehabilitation Hospital Pergine (TN),
2. Caserta Local Health Authority (ASL Caserta) - partner of Campania
3. Central Remedial Clinic, Dublin
4. DEASS SUPSI,
5. Motivation Romania
6. ESAAC
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Rehab Lab (Kerpape reeducation centre)