Digital healthcare Materials

With the global healthcare market rapidly expanding, domestic medical industries often rely on foreign systems such as Varian HyperArc for radiosurgery simulation. In the SLM (Selective Laser Melting) field, local companies focus on hardware integration while still depending on foreign software like Materialise Magics 3D, lacking independent development of core technologies. In contrast, international players such as Verian HyperArc offer advanced features like automated optimal dosage calculation and radiosurgery simulation, while Magics 3D improves model placement efficiency and supports automated transfer of supports across parts.
In response, AIM-HI has long been committed to digital healthcare, integrating resources from medicine, academia, and industry. We established partnerships with Chiayi Christian Hospital, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, and Chi Mei Hospital in Tainan, and cooperated with Tongtai Machine & Tool Co., the largest processing equipment manufacturer in southern Taiwan. We developed technologies based on medical imaging, 3D printing, and CNC multi-axis machining to create advanced medical services and affordable customized out-of-pocket medical devices, including digital treatment planning evaluation, titanium alloy 3D-printed rib-specific self-locking plates, and customized vertebral titanium alloy implants. These developments help strengthen domestic technological autonomy and promote local industry growth through industry-academic-research collaboration, paving the way for a precision medicine industry in Taiwan targeting the Southeast Asian market. In 2024, our team completed key technology developments and validations:

• A collision prevention system for the TrueBeam radiotherapy machine that integrates multi-source medical data and achieves a refresh rate of 60 fps, combined with optical respiratory tracking.
• A rib-specific titanium alloy 3D-printed self-locking bone plate using SLM with in-situ heat treatment, reducing traditional processing time by 50%.
• A custom vertebral titanium implant designed using bone density analysis to create a hollow structure, reducing weight by over 40% and improving osseointegration.

Key Technologies in 2024:

1. Digital Treatment Planning Evaluation
   Based on patients' surface data, 4DCT images are extracted to reconstruct 3D models of the skin, organs, and tumors. These are integrated with machine models, CT models, treatment planning, and depth camera data to enable real-time respiratory tracking and assist radiation oncologists with collision detection during treatment, improving surgical safety.
2. Rib-Specific Titanium Alloy 3D-Printed Self-Locking Plate
   Traditional plates follow standard designs and fail to meet specific surgical requirements. To solve this, our team used CT image extraction and 3D reconstruction of the affected area, integrating advanced in-situ heat treatment additive manufacturing to solve the warping issues common in printing long, thin components.
3. Customized Titanium Vertebral Implant
   Using titanium SLM and custom CAD/CAM software, and in collaboration with Chiayi Christian Hospital's medical imaging and clinical expertise, we tailor each implant’s size, shape, and anterior curvature to the patient's anatomy. The design simulates post-fusion vertebral positions to inform implant development.