La Candelaria University Hospital in Tenerife has successfully integrated FDM/FFF 3D printing to manufacture custom mechanotherapy tools, resulting in a 97.6% reduction in equipment procurement costs.

La Candelaria University Hospital in Tenerife has successfully integrated FDM/FFF 3D printing to manufacture custom mechanotherapy tools, resulting in a 97.6% reduction in equipment procurement costs. By transitioning from commercial sourcing to in-house production, the hospital reduced per-batch costs from 2,316 EUR to 56 EUR. Occupational therapist Teresa Fernández and engineer Carlos Yanes led the initiative, producing 30 pieces across 12 distinct models to support patients recovering from hand injuries and fractures. The workflow involves clinical staff defining requirements, which technical engineers then translate into printable designs, effectively increasing patient throughput from 7-9 to 12-15 individuals per day.

This implementation highlights the growing utility of distributed, point-of-care manufacturing in clinical settings to bypass the limitations of rigid, patented medical equipment. While commercial tools often lack the versatility required for specific patient anatomy, in-house AM allows for the customization of tension, scale, and ergonomics. This shift mirrors broader trends in hospital-based AM, where institutions are increasingly moving beyond simple anatomical modeling toward the production of functional, end-use devices and maintenance components for legacy hospital infrastructure.

For clinical environments, the primary value lies in the ability to iterate designs rapidly to meet specific patient needs rather than relying on mass-produced alternatives. Hospitals looking to replicate this model must prioritize the establishment of a robust design-to-print workflow and ensure that all printed tools meet internal safety and sterilization protocols. The plan to create a national database of these designs indicates a move toward standardized, open-source clinical AM, which could lower barriers to entry for other healthcare facilities in Spain.