The first step in producing personalized orthotics is accurately capturing the human body's shape.

Traditionally, this is often done through plaster casting to capture the contours of a specific body area, followed by demolding, modification, and fabrication. Today, 3D scanning provides a more digital approach to this process. A non-contact 3D scanner can capture the shape of the body and convert it into digital data, which can then be processed, digitally designed, and ultimately used for 3D printing or other manufacturing processes.

A complete digital workflow for personalized orthotics can be summarized as: Body Shape Capture → 3D Data Processing → Digital Design → 3D Printing / Manufacturing → Evaluation & Iteration.

In this workflow, 3D scanning serves as the first step connecting the physical human body with subsequent digital design and manufacturing processes. Compared with traditional physical casting, digital capture changes more than just how body shape is acquired. More importantly, it transforms a one-time physical model into 3D data that can be stored, edited, measured, reused, and continuously refined.

01 From Traditional Casting to 3D Scanning: What Has Changed in Body Shape Capture?

Plaster casting is a common method for capturing body shape in traditional orthotic fabrication. However, for the user, the casting process involves more than simply taking time. Plaster needs to be applied directly around the target area of the body, followed by wrapping, fixation, setting, and demolding. The process may cause heat, pressure, or discomfort, while also requiring the user to maintain a relatively stable position.

For children, as well as users who may be sensitive to unfamiliar equipment, physical contact, or visual stimulation, this process can also make it more difficult to adapt and cooperate.

3D scanning provides a lightweight, non-contact alternative. In personalized orthotics, a 3D scanner can directly capture the shape of target areas such as an infant's head, feet, legs, spine, or hands and convert them into digital models for subsequent data processing and design.

For example, the 3DeVOK MQ professional 3D scanner features a no-light scanning mode that does not require obvious visible light or laser projection on the body surface, helping reduce exposure to strong or flashing light. For children and users who are sensitive to light or unfamiliar equipment, this non-contact approach can make the scanning process more natural.

Human body scanning for orthotics often involves relatively large target areas, such as the torso and legs. Therefore, the scanning field of view can also affect the overall user experience. The 3DeVOK MQ portable 3D scanner features a large 1,100 mm × 1,000 mm field of view, allowing larger target areas to be captured while reducing the need for frequent scanner movement and repeated posture adjustments. This can also help produce more continuous and complete 3D data.

From contact-based plaster casting to no-light, non-contact 3D scanning, the change is not simply about the data acquisition tool. It can also make the capture process more comfortable for the patient. Therefore, the shift from plaster casting to 3D scanning is not simply a change of tools. It represents a shift in how human body shape is represented—from a physical model to digital data.

Traditional Casting vs. Digital Capture

02 From Body Shape to the Orthotic Model

3D scanning captures the surface shape of the human body, but the scan itself is not the final orthotic model. Once the data enters the design stage, the surface may need to be digitally modified according to the specific product and application requirements, including surface adjustment, boundary definition, thickness design, and structural modification. Different types of software can perform different tasks throughout this process.

This is an often-overlooked part of the digital orthotics workflow.

A 3D scan captures the body surface—it is not the final orthotic model.

Depending on the specific requirements, the design process may include:

• Surface modification
• Boundary definition
• Thickness design
• Structural adjustment
• Local pressure relief or clearance
• Personalized dimensional adjustments

In other words, a complete digital workflow should look like this: Human Body → 3D Scanning → Digital Body Model → Digital Modification / Design → Orthotic Model. Rather than simply: Human Body → 3D Scanning → 3D Printing.

How Do Different Software Tools Fit into the Workflow?

Different software solutions serve different purposes.

For example, after capturing human body 3D data with the 3DeVOK MQ color 3D scanner , basic data processing can be completed in 3DeVOK Studio scanning software before the model is imported into specialized design software. Rodin4D is primarily designed for the orthotics and prosthetics (O&P) field and can be used for digital modification, design, and manufacturing workflows. Geomagic Freeform is better suited to editing and designing complex organic surfaces. It can be used with scanned data for surface adjustment, deformation, thickness design, and edge modification.

A 2025 review of CAD applications for foot and ankle orthoses also showed that practitioners use both specialized O&P CAD solutions, such as Rodin4D and OrthoModel, and general-purpose CAD software, including Rhino and SolidWorks.

Therefore, digital fabrication does not rely on a single software platform to handle the entire process. Instead, 3D scanning, data processing, specialized design, and manufacturing tools each perform their respective functions to form a complete digital workflow.

04 From Digital Model to Physical Product: Bringing Designs to Life with 3D Printing

Once the digital design is complete, the model can enter 3D printing or other digital manufacturing processes. For personalized orthotics, each user's body shape may be different. As a result, manufacturing often needs to accommodate customization, small-batch production, or even truly one-of-a-kind products. Compared with traditional methods that require a physical mold to be produced separately, digital manufacturing can directly work from a digital model and quickly adapt to different designs.

For example, SLS 3D printing uses a laser to selectively sinter powdered material layer by layer. Because the process does not require additional support structures, it can effectively produce complex surfaces, lattice structures, and lightweight designs. For orthotics that need to be customized according to individual body shapes, this manufacturing method can directly build on the preceding digital design process.

This is particularly valuable for personalized orthotics, where the shape and structure of every product may be different. SLS 3D printing can manufacture customized products in small batches directly from digital models without requiring a separate mold for every variation. This also gives designers greater flexibility to adjust surfaces, thicknesses, and local structures.

From the initial body scan to digital design and the final physical product, the entire process can continue to evolve around the same 3D data.

3D Scanning → Digital Model → Digital Design → SLS 3D Printing → Personalized Orthotic.

05 Real-World Application: 3D Scanning for Personalized Orthotics

In practical applications, 3DeVOK non-contact 3D scanning technology has been used in the digital production of personalized orthotics.

In an application involving Zhongshan Chen Xinghai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, the 3DeVOK MQ handheld 3D scanner is used to capture 3D data of target areas of the body. The data is then applied to the digital production of personalized orthotic solutions, including spinal orthoses, wrist orthoses, and foot orthoses.

From initial 3D scanning to digital design and 3D printing, human body shape data runs throughout the entire production process. The scan is no longer simply a one-time casting result. Instead, it becomes digital data that can continue to be used for design, modification, and manufacturing.

06 What Digitalization Really Changes Goes Beyond "Casting"

If the only change is replacing plaster casting with 3D scanning, the full value of digitalization has not yet been realized.

The more important change is that human body shape is transformed from a one-time physical model into digital data that can be continuously used.

From One-Time Casting to a Digital Asset

Traditional approach: Human Body → Plaster Model → Fabrication.

Digital approach: Human Body → 3D Data → Storage → Design → Manufacturing.

The captured data can be stored as digital files and, subject to appropriate data management and privacy requirements, used for subsequent design and analysis.

From One-Time Production to Continuous Iteration

Digital models can preserve different design versions: Original Scan Data → Design Version A → Design Version B → Final Version

Future modifications do not necessarily require rebuilding the body shape model from scratch.

From Single-Time Capture to Longitudinal Comparison

When a patient requires follow-up or long-term monitoring, 3D scanning can be performed again at different stages, allowing the data from different time points to be compared.

This creates a workflow such as: Initial Scan → Digital Design → Fabrication → Use / Evaluation → Rescanning → Data Comparison → Optimization

This is one of the more important advantages of a digital workflow compared with simply using 3D scanning as a digital replacement for physical casting.

A Complete Digital Workflow for Personalized Orthotics

Overall, 3D scanning is not an isolated step. It serves as the data entry point for the entire digital workflow.The transition from plaster models to 3D digital models changes more than how human body shape is captured. It represents a broader shift in orthotic fabrication—from a physical workflow toward a digital one.

For organizations exploring digital orthotics, 3D scanning can serve as a starting point: first converting human body shape into manageable 3D data, then gradually connecting data processing, digital design, and digital manufacturing to build a workflow suited to their own needs.

From capturing human body shape to digital design and manufacturing, 3D data can connect the entire personalized orthotics workflow.

Explore how 3DeVOK 3D scanning can fit into your digital orthotics workflow.