Frequently Asked Questions
Want to know more about us? Like how do we make prostheses? Which grade of silicone material do we use? Answers to these and many more can be found here on our FAQ page.
Breast implants & prostheses
Breast implant is a device that is surgically fitted into the body for permanent restoration or augmentation purposes. On the other hand, breast prosthesis is a temporary solution in which a breast form that is worn inside a brassier every day and also can be removed as per user’s comfort.
No, since the breast implant goes inside the body and stays there for rest of patient’s life; highest (implant) grade silicone is used for manufacturing these. Instead, breast prosthesis are also manufactured using medical grade silicone, but more suitable for external (skin contact) use. Silicone material used for manufacturing prostheses can not be used for implants.
implant-grade Elastomer Additive Manufacturing (iEAM)
iEAM is also a form of additive manufacturing in which products are fabricated using a special kind of materials called elastomers. Some examples of elastomers are silicone, polyurethane etc.
The difference directly comes from the raw material that is used. In most of the other 3D printing technologies, mostly thermoplastics or metals are processed to make a product. However, iEAM uses elastomers such as silicone, polyurethanes etc.
No, because elastomer are completely different materials. Two important differences are: (a) they can not be melted by heating/cooling. Instead, they change their physical state (also called curing) in response to a chemical cross-linking reaction. (b) unlike thermoplastics and metals, this transition is irreversible. It means, elastomers can not be converted back to uncured state, once cured.
Absolutely! our current machine can use implant grade silicone (purest & safest grade of silicone) and 3D print it to get any shape and form. That too without changing the material even slightly.
Medical grade silicone
Medical grade silicone is the purest form of silicone that is used for healthcare applications. Chemically, they are platinum (Pt) based formulations manufactured in a controlled environment, validated through stringent quality control and then finally certified to be used in healthcare applications.
Yes, there are. There are three different subcategories within medical grade silicone as well. (a) ISO class VI: which is safe for external (to the body and any body cavity) use only. (b) Short term implants: which is safe for short term (upto 21-30 days) implants only and (c) Long terms implants: which is safe for long term (longer than 30 days) implants. An average life of a breast implant inside the body can be up to 10 years.