Ricoh has opened the Ricoh 3D for Healthcare Innovation Studio, its flagship Point of Care 3D medical device manufacturing facility. It is in the Innovation Quarter, in downtown Winston-Salem, NC. This is the first of many Point of Care 3D medical device manufacturing facilities that will be connected to a health system.
 
The on-site Innovation Studio provides clinicians with immediate access to development, design, and manufacturing services for patient-specific, 3D-printed anatomic models, which can be used for surgical planning and patient education. 
 
“The RICOH 3D for Healthcare Innovation Studio is a foundational step in Ricoh’s long-term vision to lead the way in democratizing access to patient-specific, precision medical solutions in healthcare,” Gary Turner, Managing Director, Additive Manufacturing, North America, Ricoh USA, Inc., told the press. “As we look to integrate and scale Point of Care facilities within health systems nationally, we’re extremely grateful that Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist has partnered with us to make the first facility a reality, and we look forward to growing 3D production within their network and in other hospital systems across the country.”
 
The on-site center offers faster production times, in-person access to clinical resources, 3D printing expertise, and multidisciplinary team collaboration across national networks. In addition, the Innovation Studio helps to increase communication and feedback between the care team and Ricoh staff to drive innovation for personalized patient care and focus on collecting data on the benefits of using 3D-printed anatomic models to help drive reimbursement.
 
Patient-specific anatomic models are created via additive manufacturing, using segmented 3D print files created from medical images in FDA-cleared applications. Models are used for diagnostic purposes in various medical fields, including craniomaxillofacial, orthopedic, cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and breast applications.
 
The facility leverages HIPAA-compliant, ISO 13485-certified 3D medical device manufacturing center and Managed Services to offer a streamlined and efficient solution for producing and obtaining models.
 
The new facility enables Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Wake Forest University School of Medicine to create a Medical 3D Printing Center of Excellence, in collaboration with Wake Forest Innovations and Innovation Quarter.
 
The Studio can lead to reduced operating times, refined surgical approaches, lowered costs, enhanced diagnostic support, educational opportunities, and decreased compliance concerns. 
 
“As a leading academic learning health system, we are committed to leveraging technology that will benefit our patients, our faculty and staff, and our learners,” said Christopher T. Whitlow, MD, PhD, MHA professor and chair of radiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and a neuroradiologist at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. “This partnership will allow our health system and medical school to continue to elevate our clinical, research and education capabilities, and will open up new opportunities to collaborate with other departments across our organization.”