Lattice Structures Revolutionizing Patient-Centric Healthcare

At Carbon we ask ourselves, how can our technology improve a patient’s quality of life? How can digitally manufactured products that are customized to patients’ bodies, BMI, and skin conditions help their recovery or psychological well-being? The average patient spends 4.5 days in the hospital, while a nursing home patient spends over 835 days in the home, with anywhere from 8-18 hours spent in bed each day. How would a customized lattice cushion benefit them?

The latticed part you see here is a project we are working on at Carbon to reimagine how hospital beds and wheelchairs are made. Through the unique possibilities made possible by the Carbon Platform, we have created a cushion with a precisely tuned mechanical response, one that is soft on contact while simultaneously providing additional support as you sink deeper. The Carbon Lattice Engine allows you to generate multiple lattice structures when designing the bed, allowing you to optimize and tailor the specific lattice structure, down to each strut, to meet every patients’ individual needs.

In addition to the innovative design of the lattice structure, our EPU (elastomer) material has been tested and is biocompatible for long-term dermal contact. The cells are an open design to allow constant air flow which maintains a cooler surface temperature for the patient reducing the threat of decubitus ulcers and pressure sores. Despite their complex designs, the lattice structures can easily be kept clean and sanitary.