Nik VlaĹĄiÄ was born prematurely with severe brain damage. His father, Matej VlaĹĄiÄ, was told his child may never be able to sit up. Three years later, Nik was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. However, VlaĹĄiÄ decided to do everything he could to provide as high a quality of life as possible for his son and he started to think how he could help him. He came up with the idea of an ankle foot orthosis (AFO). So, VlaĹĄiÄ, who is an engineer with 12 years of experience, turned to 3D printing to create a much cheaper, more comfortable solution. By using a Formlabs Form 2 SLA printer, VlaĹĄiÄ created 13 prototypes of comfortable AFOs.
It took VlaĹĄiÄ half a year to perfect the AFO design but finally he was able to provide Nik with orthoses which were comfortable. The AFOs designed by VlaĹĄiÄ fit comfortably into Nikâs shoes and one pair costs less than $15. Traditionally made AFOs cost upwards of $5,000. By comparison, VlaĹĄiÄâs 3D printer cost just $3,500 and Durable resin costs $175. VlaĹĄiÄ did a great job in helping his son to walk, dance and even hike. So, he decided to try and help others by starting his own company, aNImaKe, to provide more families in a similar situation as himself with the technology to help their children.
Rather than having to go through the discomfort of fittings, plaster casts and quickly outgrowing expensive AFOs, itâs possible to 3D print comfortable designs. Nik, now seven-years-old, is already on his fourth pair of AFOs.
VlaĹĄiÄ has also been working with Gaurav Manchanda, the director of healthcare at Formlabs, whose three-year-old son was also born prematurely and diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
The two have since been working closely to tackle the issue of expensive orthotics. Manchanda explains: âEven if my son doesnât improve from this process, we can still help millions of people around the world if this technology can scale. If we play a part in that, itâs super fulfilling.â