Women who undergo mastectomy and are unable to undergo reconstruction usually choose to wear a prosthesis that fits inside a special bra. The bras and prostheses offered today for women who have had a mastectomy create various problems and limitations, which often bring the women into physical and mental discomfort. There are problems concerning the mismatch of the bra and prosthesis to their body, as a result of technical difficulty in matching a generic prosthesis to a different mastectomy in each case. In many cases, these women suffer from excessive sweating and rashes, and from pressure and pain in the shoulder coming from the weight of the prosthesis that drains onto the bra strap. In addition, the women often fear the prosthesis might move, fall, or move out of place, making them feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.
In this study, a customized bra was developed for women who underwent a mastectomy. The bra was developed based on conclusions from interviews conducted with women who underwent mastectomy to provide an answer to the variety of problems they reported. The bras are customized based on a 3D scan, which is processed and adjusted to create a file from which a bra can be made. The bras were printed with 3D Printed Spacer Fabrics (3DSF) technology, the code was adapted to the bras, and mechanical tests were done to study the material’s properties. Bras were adjusted and printed for three women who underwent a mastectomy. They received the bras for a wear test and gave feedback on the bra.
