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Transforming the
Ostomy Bag Experience

Problem

More than  15 million people worldwide live with an ostomy bag. The design of the bags has merely changed since its invention despite having many problems. Problems include leakage, lack of attractiveness, skin irritation, ballooning (gas) of the bag amongst others.

 

Leakage is the main problem associated with ostomy bags with 99% of ostomates having experienced a leak at least once and 50% experiencing them frequently (daily or weekly). This is a huge burden on ostomates’ quality of life. Leaks are mainly due to a lack of adaptability of the wafer to different types of stomas. 

Solution

Odapt is the first 3D printed silicone wafer designed to avoid leaks. Thanks to 3D printing technology, we adapt the design of the wafer to any shape of stoma and to any pouch existing in the market (and even to any colour!), consequently eliminating the problem of leaks. By eliminating leaks, we also reduce the problem of skin irritation.  

 

Sustainability

People change their wafers  every 2-3 days, some do it even daily. This creates a huge quantity of medical, non-recyclable waste. With Odapt, we eliminate this waste, with a re-usable wafer that can last for years, it can be easily cleaned with soap and water. This can be done because of the chosen material: biocompatible silicone with a biocompatible gel that works as an adhesive.

 

Easy to use

Currently, ostomates need to measure their stoma, cut the wafer manually and remove the adhesive strips. This process can take around 20 minutes for experienced users and can be very overwhelming especially for the elderly. With Odapt, we propose a simpler way of using the wafer, which is already cut to the perfect shape of stoma and that doesn't need to manually remove strips.

 

Process

The stoma of the user is scanned with a professional scanner and then the wafer (Odapt) is adapted with Rhino or Meshmixer to fit that stoma and the pouch used by the user. The wafer (Odapt) is then 3D printed using a biocompatible silicone material.

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Awards

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  • Winner of the Formnext 2023 Start-up Challenge award. Formnext is the biggest 3D printing fair in the world. 

  • Winner of the Distributed Design Award, Royal Academy of China, 2023.

  • This project has been awarded with 25 000 € as part of the Forward AM Innovation Award 2022. 

  • This project has won the Elisava Best Master Thesis Awards 2023 

  • It has also been nominated for the James Dyson Award 2022

  • Winner of the iF Student Design Award 2024 

Duration of the project: 2 years and still running

Co-authors: Jessica Nissen, Patricia López

Others: Jessica Fernandez, Xavier Tuto, Mario Garcia

© 2026 by Ivana Llobet Leca

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