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(GEReports) Dream come true: an Australian sleep-apnoea solution

Some love for Arcam from GE. The name Arcam is used 10 times in the report.

At gereports.com.au - Dream come true: an Australian sleep-apnoea solution - July 5, 2017

Selected portions:

From a bed of the softest titanium powder, 60 silvery air pipes emerge, perfectly formed by an electron-beam 3D printer. Each hollow harbinger of peaceful breathing is specifically shaped to fit the bite and feed the airways of one person suffering obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

This is the story of how Dr Christopher Hart, a sleep-deprived Australian dentist, collaborated with CSIRO, the nation’s innovation enabler, to lift the snorer’s curse for himself and for thousands, perhaps soon to be hundreds of thousands, of others.
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CSIRO identified Arcam as the technology best suited to manufacturing the Oventus device. “The fact that our builds in the Arcam are held at a much higher temperature (than in laser machines), and in a vacuum, gives more control over the structure,” says Gulizia. It allows pieces to be built on top of each other, producing dozens of different patient files in the same 3D build.

To create each layer in the build, the electron-beam technology heats the entire powder bed to an optimal process temperature specific to the material used, which means components produced by the EBM process are free from residual stresses and do not require further heat treating.

The first devices were delivered within 11 months of Hart and Anderson beginning discussions with CSIRO. In November 2014, the week after the O2Vent had been registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Hart says, “I hired a doctor’s room for $30 an hour and started taking impressions and shaping devices.”

Patients registered interest in the thousands every time the CSIRO put out a press release, or when Hart did a media interview. He says there was “a big bottleneck, because it was only me and a few of my mates doing it.”

When the CSIRO’s ability to print O2Vents on its Arcam A1 was outstripped by demand, Oventus sent STL files to New Zealand, Germany and the US for manufacture.
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The Q10plus is designed for efficient manufacture of orthopedic implants. “Our EBM process is much faster than a laser process as we can move the beam at 8,000 metres per second,” says Anders Thelander, director of area sales of Arcam EBM. He adds, “There are approximately 80,000 people worldwide who have implants in their bodies made by our EBM tech.”
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Hart is thrilled to be offering large numbers of apnoeics the means to simply, comfortably and effectively manage their sleep and their snoring, and ultimately extend their longevity. “The responses from patients are just phenomenal,” says Hart. “It’s very hard to get the devices off people just to make an adjustment! They want to wear it. They feel better. They’re not snoring. They’re getting better sleep. And they have more energy.”





Dr Afshin Hosseini, additive manufacturing supervisor at Oventus’ production facility in Clayton Victoria. He says, “Oventus bought this Q10 machine which is only the second Arcam machine in Australia. I had the experience of working with Arcam technology at the CSIRO, so I was the best candidate to start the production for them, without any waste of time.” Photo courtesy Oventus.