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Cohort 4

Pouyan Jafarian

Project Title: Towards digitally designed, 3D printed spinal orthoses for adolescents with scoliosis

Supervisory Team: Dr Nicolas Newell, Prof. Alison McGregor, Dr Alex Dickinson
Interest areas: Spinal Braces, Additive Manufacturing


I graduated from the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences and the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences with a BSc and an MSc in Prosthetics and Orthotics. I am a PhD student of the EPSRC CDT in Prosthetics and Orthotics, and my host institution is the Imperial
College London. The PhD project aims to lay the foundations for a step change in brace treatment for adolescents with scoliosis by making way for the digital design of 3D-printed modular scoliosis braces. These
braces will be lighter, more comfortable, and more cosmetically attractive than traditional designs. These improvements could significantly impact a patient’s quality of life and increase compliance and treatment success.
Specific objectives of the PhD include:
• Understand clinician/patient needs. Identify what is needed for stakeholder buy-in.
• Develop a digital rectification process to provide smart templates of patient’s torsos.
• Assess the performance of CAD/CAM orthoses compared to traditional brace designs.

My hobbies include Sports, Meditation and various genres of Books, Movies and Music.