What do Lucky the Humboldt penguin in Santa Barbara, and Shanti the Asian elephant in Washington D.C, have in common? They both had feet issues and were in need of some custom shoes. That’s where Decker Brands, which owns Teva, came in.
Decker Brands (which includes Teva, UGG and Hoka One One) has been using 3D technology to advance its design and production. Using 3D scanning technology veterinarians at the Smithsonian National Zoo made a detailed image of Shanti’s foot and sent it to the designers at Teva in California. They were able to create a size 20 EEEEEEEEEEEE width custom boot from special materials. The boot helps Shanti, who is 41 years-old and weighs 9,000 pounds, navigate without leaning forward and putting additional stress on her foot. The perfectly fitting boot will help Shanti cope with the symptoms of arthritis.
“The benefit of these boots designed by Teva is their versatility. They protect her healing feet in much the same way humans wear bandages, and they allow her to move freely throughout the exhibit,” says Tony Barthel, of the Smithsonian National Zoo.
Across the country Lucky the penguin was born with a medical condition in one of his feet. With hundreds of hours of volunteer work from Teva a custom boot was made that allows him to walk, jump, and swim.
3D scanning in animal care is just taking off and is bringing new options and solutions to all specialties of veterinarians. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania created a first-ever, robotics-controlled imaging system that can be used on a standing and moving horse. The system has an unlimited range of motion and allows for unencumbered access to the horse’s entire anatomy—something previously unavailable for an awake, in-motion, load-bearing horse. The scan, “is much less stressful,” said Dr. Barbara Dallap Schaer, medical director of Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center. “It’s a pretty athletic event for horses to recover from general anesthesia.”
The applications for 3D technology in animal care range form creating 3D-printed prosthetic feet for ducks to 3D-printed titanium legs for Great Danes.
To keep up to date on Shanti’s progress follow her on Facebook, and watch this video to see an overview of Shanthi’s treatment:
*images and video via Smithsonian’s National Zoo
