From Happy Meals to Healing: How MedCAD Founder Pioneered 3D-Printed Implants
For Blake Hairston, the path from designing children’s toys to crafting custom medical implants wasn’t a planned career shift, but a response to a changing landscape and a burgeoning technological prospect. After a accomplished career in toy design, including work on McDonald’s Happy Meal toys and Bratz dolls, Hairston recognized a shift in the job market in the late 2000s. She observed that many of her peers’ roles were moving to Asia, leaving medical and aerospace as primary growth areas within the U.S.
Recognizing the potential of 3D modeling within healthcare, Hairston made a pivotal decision. “It was thrilling and scary, but I saw the opportunity because the technology was so new,” she recalls. She left her stable 9-to-5 job and launched MedCAD.
Initially, Hairston began experimenting with anatomy modeling, adapting software previously used in toy growth for applications like orthognathic surgery – specifically jaw and teeth repairs. By 2009, she had developed a business plan aimed at securing FDA clearance. Her innovations began to attract attention, particularly from a younger generation of surgeons who were agreeable with advanced technology and 3D animation.
A single phone call in 2009 dramatically altered the course of her company. “I had one of those pivotal moments in your life, where your whole world changes,” Hairston explained. “I got a phone call from a surgeon that I knew, and he said, ’Hey, you know, do you think you could make me a cranial implant?'”
That request marked the beginning of MedCAD’s focus on creating custom implants for patients with deformities resulting from trauma or physical abnormalities. While skull implants remain a notable part of the business, MedCAD has expanded to include reconstruction products for the foot, ankle, and face, all designed using 3D technology.
“We were some of the earliest people doing it,” Hairston stated. “There’s a fantastic thread to all of this is, that we are able to bring a person back as much as we can to a normalized state with a lot less surgeries. [Patients are] waking up with the ability to have teeth implants after they heal. That’s the power of this technology-we can do a more holistic approach to reconstructing a foot or a face.”
Nearly two decades after its founding, MedCAD has achieved profitability and is experiencing significant growth. the company currently generates an estimated $10 million to $20 million in annual revenue, with cranial and neuro products driving growth at a rate of 18% to 25% year-over-year as 2022. While the majority of revenue comes from long-term contracts with global medical leaders, MedCAD is also expanding through a direct-to-hospital strategy.
Despite her success in both toy design and business ownership, Hairston finds the most fulfillment in the impact her implants have on patients’ lives. “Toys are really fun for children, but they’re not played with for long,” she said.”We can really make a difference making these kinds of products for humans that change their lives. That gave me a lot of the power and the passion to do it.”
