- (Intro Music)
(Intro Music)
- [Melissa] I'm Melissa Oliver.
I'm an Occupational Therapist.
And I'm also the program director for the
Assistive Technology Program and the 80 design center.
We started 3D printing here in 2010.
We were the first VA to put 3D printing in
a clinical setting.
So that it could be utilized as another modality
to help our therapist find
customized solutions for veterans,
where an off the shelf item may not be possible,
maybe we couldn't find it, maybe it didn't fit properly.
This technology could help them come up with an individual
solution for that specific veteran.
As more and more people were learning
that we had 3D printers.
We were getting calls, asking about how it was being used,
learning about used cases were coming to us
with complex challenges.
- [Tim] My name is Tim Myers. I'm a US Navy veteran.
I was in for four years.
In September 24th, 2006, I had a motorcycle accident
And I became a C four, five, and six central cord quad.
So they got me a job in the pharmacy here.
Part-time, as a runner, a pharmacy tech, I'm the runner.
I deliver all the medications throughout
the hospital to all the floors.
I had a lot of people here,
so I could go to the elevator and I could sneak in and I
could say, could you push seven for me, please?
So on labor day, I go up there and
the elevator is open and this place is
empty. It's a ghost town.
So I got in and I'm like, I'm in the elevator.
And I'm like, okay.
And I realized, what am I going to do now?
I can't touch the button. So now I got to sit here and wait.
So I wait 30 minutes. I waited in the elevator.
Then the next day I came straight to Barb
- [Barbara] I designed an elevator button stick for Tim
out of splinting material.
However, the splinting material was not strong enough
to hold up to the demands that he had in his job.
So we found the Richmond VA was able to use the 3D printing.
So I sent up the piece that we were using for
the elevator button stick, and they were able to
produce this on the 3D printer
and send it back to us.
And the elevator buttons deck that they returned to us that
was printed on the 3D printer was much stronger than the one
that we were using made out of splinting material.
- Everything I need, I just have to ask here.
This is the smartest thing I ever did.
I don't know where I'd be without the VA.
- We've touched 33 states that
we've impacted veterans on
the use of 3D printing.
And so we've been very excited about that,
that we've been able to provide those resources to veterans
that may not have access, maybe because they live
in a rural area or their VA may not
have a 3D printer, or they might have a 3D printer
but not able to know how to use it
or have the design capability to be able to use it.
So they reached out to us.
We have three engineers who have that design skill set
and can help to design and understand what type of printer
they might have. What's the best material?
Because sometimes not every 3D printer is the best for what
they want to end up being the solution for that veteran.
And so understanding the material,
understanding the printer and how you design it,
that's what's most important, not just hitting print.
And so we have that expertise.
- I love working at the VA.
As a matter of fact, people ask me when I'm going to retire,
but I just love helping the veterans here.
It means a lot to me to be able to work and provide them
with things, to help them remain independent
and reenter into jobs and the community
and become a functioning part of society again.