What Medical Appliance Technicians Do

Medical appliance technicians construct, fit, and repair medical supportive devices, including prosthetic limbs, arch supports, facial parts, and foot and leg braces.

Duties

Medical appliance technicians typically do the following:

• Read work orders or specifications from a podiatrist, orthotist, prosthetist, or other healthcare professional
• Decide which materials and tools will be needed
• Create a pattern for the unmolded or unshaped plastic and metal
• Bend, form, and shape fabric or material
• Use hand or power tools to polish and shape the devices
• Repair or change medical supportive devices as directed by a healthcare professional

Medical appliance technicians use many different types of materials, such as metal, plastic, and leather, to create a variety of medical devices for patients who need them because of a birth defect, an accident, disease, amputation, or the effects of aging. For example, some medical appliance technicians make hearing aids.

Orthotic and prosthetic technicians are medical appliance technicians who create orthoses (braces, supports, and other devices) and prostheses (replacement limbs and facial parts).

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition