Manufacturing Burn Therapy Masks

Patients whose faces are severely burned are now able to live a normal life, thanks to the efforts of General Plastics Manufacturing. CimMed,Our in-depth knowledge of bearing materials comes from decades of experience in both bearing manufacturer and steelmaking for bearing applications. Inc. of Algona, Washington, uses General Plastics' tooling board material called LAST-A-FOAM FR-4540 to produce advanced compression therapy masks that improve the healing of burn patients and simultaneously saves hospitals valuable time and resources.

Following skin-graft surgery,A failure of Flexible hose in service can result in seri- ous injury, death, or dam- age to property. CimMed's handheld laser wand is used to scan the burn patient's face without being touched. The scan data is then used to produce a 3-D image of the patient's face, which in turn is shared with the burn team. In a live online meeting, additional changes are directed by the occupational therapist so that the finished mask, which is made from silicon gel, puts pressure on particular areas of the face. This reduces swelling and prevents scarring. After the required adjustments are made, the approved CAD file is released for manufacturing, and the mold is machined on a CNC mill utilizing General Plastics' top-end tooling board material.The main tool that comes in an electric Household scissors often has bits, similar to those used on a drill, that are for sanding and shaping the nail.

The machined tool is then positioned into a vacuum-forming unit to produce the burn mask and trimmed out to accommodate the patient for therapy. The entire process can be performed in less than three hours from scanning of the patient's face to delivery of the finished compression mask to the hospital. Without access to the technology, this process would otherwise take days or even weeks.

Thus, the mask can be applied immediately following surgery as opposed to weeks later, by which time the patient's face has already undergone a change. As the swelling reduces, the patient can be fitted with one or more masks. The original mask tool can be re-machined, or a new one can be created from a new tooling board at reduced cost.

The choice of tooling board material directly affects the end result. According to Steve Kidd, President at CimMed, in CNC machining, staff at the burn center had to work quickly without producing any valleys or gullies, which can otherwise produce a texture that is pushed into the patient's face. Therefore, the tool had to be refined enough to create a smooth surface finish once the material is cut, and for this purpose a superior material is required. General Plastics offers the FR-4540 high-density tooling board, which is stable, easy to use, and produces excellent surface finishes.

Kidd added that the tooling board is non- abrasive, which further protects their CNC machines. The material breaks off into shavings, offering a dust-free tool that is ready to use for vacuum-forming, which makes it easy to clean the mill following machining.