Eva de Goede’s 3D Printed Brace Helps Her Win EuroHockey 2021

Eva de Goede, three-time Olympic field field hockey champion with the Netherlands, broke her wrist shortly before the 2021 European Championship. Not wanting to leave one of its best players on the bench, the Dutch team tried to find solutions to heal the captain and allow her to play. The key once again lies in 3D printing: thanks to a custom 3D printed brace, placed after surgery, Eva de Goede was able to rejoin her team in time for the championship and lead them to victory.

This is not the first time that additive manufacturing has assisted the world of sports, whether in cycling, long-distance running or soccer. It allows the design of devices, accessories or equipment that can be fully adapted to the morphology of an athlete or an amateur sportsman. Comfort is improved and performance is enhanced.

Eva de Goede and her 3D printed brace

A collective effort

For the realization of this particular prosthesis, several actors came together. In order to perfectly fit the athlete’s hand, it was scanned by the Dutch company Centrum Orthopedie (CO). The scan was then shared with Artus 3D, a specialist in 3D hand orthotics, who created a 3D model of the brace. A special design called the “Sizoo dynamic wrist brace 2.0” had already been developed in 2020 by the company, in collaboration with Saskia Sizoo, and served as the basis for the brace, facilitating the development of the medical device. This design is especially designed for people with recurring wrist problems and thus accelerate rehabilitation.