EXPERT INSIGHT

Software: The Key to Engineering the Future of Personalized Care

2 min read|Published July 19, 2023

Computer screen with the Mimics Innovation Suite software and a bone with a metal corrective device popping out of the screen.

Technologies such as 3D printing, extended reality, computational modeling, and artificial intelligence are increasingly leveraged to support medical treatment decisions, develop new medical devices, and better educate future biomedical engineers and healthcare professionals. According to Forbes¹, 3D printing in healthcare alone has estimated revenues of over $3 billion annually, with strong future growth predicted. Software is an invaluable tool for supporting the application of these technologies. Let’s dive into three essential ways it enables progress in healthcare.

1. Enhancing research

Personalized engineering and simulation are critical for biomedical research teams, and medical image data is a robust basis for developing safer and more predictable patient outcomes. Software plays a crucial role here, making this advanced technology easy and rewarding for researchers to use. Materialise Mimics Innovation Suite, for example, allows researchers and clinicians to complete studies across various research areas, including pre-clinical and clinical, and is cited in over 11,000 peer-reviewed papers. These areas of study include applications related to medical device design, 3D printing, computational modeling, AR/VR, and artificial intelligence.

Infographic that shows the amounts of times that Mimics has been cited in research papers, the number of research institutes that use Mimics, and the number of institutes that teach Mimics.

2. Facilitating collaboration and knowledge transfer

Powerful solutions involve the work of many experts across various disciplines, so software that enables smooth collaboration accelerates innovations in the field. For example, the members of Griffith University’s ADaPT program create next-generation medical solutions, requiring efforts from engineers, clinicians, manufacturers, and more.

The Materialise University Site License for Mimics Innovation Suite enables tool sharing across departments and research groups, allowing researchers from different disciplines to bring their unique perspectives and expertise to the table.

3. Educating the next generation of engineers and scientists

Software is also an essential tool to train and prepare students for a career in the medtech industry, specifically in the rapidly growing fields of bioengineering and biomedical engineering². By using the same software as industry professionals, academic institutions can provide students with a valuable and marketable skillset. In fact, many leading hospitals and global medical device manufacturers, such as Enovis and Zimmer Biomet, utilize Materialise software in their business.

LUMC’s Dr. Bart Kaptein teaches a Computer-Aided Reconstructive Surgery course with Materialise software to give students experience with widely used tools. He says, “Having hands-on access to the Mimics Innovation Suite is…an opportunity to have them work with the industry-standard toolkit right from the beginning, making it easier for them to transition into the workforce.”

With Materialise’s University Site License, academic institutions can get affordable access to a full software toolbox that they can customize to fit their needs. Learn more about the license in this infographic.