Seeking advice on a handheld scanner (ideally wireless) to be used in less than ideal lighting conditions and with a relatively unobtrusive scanning process.

TLDR; Need wireless handheld scanner recommendation for use in hospital rooms, with relatively accessible/user friendly interface, ideally under 6k.

**Sensitivity warning** generally discusses pediatric death.

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Hello all,

I work as a secular chaplain at a 300-ish bed children’s hospital with multiple ICUs. One of the large parts of the chaplain’s role in this hospital is providing various forms of support when a child is dying or has died. This includes assisting with the creation of memory items for parents/families. I’m sure some of you have seen posts & videos from parents who have plaster molds of their deceased child’s hands or feet & want them 3d scanned & printed for preservation. I’m one of the folks that makes those initial plaster molds either before or after a death.

My team is hoping to move away from the plaster mold making process into 3D scanning and printing. The process of choosing software & identifying a printer has been relatively straightforward, but we’re running into issues in choosing a scanner because of the unique nature of how, when, and where we would need to make these scans. If we had all of the money in the world, we would get an Artec Leo and be very very happy about it, as it checks all of our necessary boxes. But, we are part of a completely philanthropy funded department in one of the few remaining stand-alone, non-profit children’s hospitals in the country and, in healthcare terms, we are super poor. We think we can fundraise around 6k for the scanner specifically (but will also happily buy something cheaper).

So, I’m hoping this hive mind might be able to help. If you’ve stuck with this post this far, please read the below requirements we would need in a scanner to make this feasible:

– Wireless & can be operated reliably by one person. We have a team of roughly 15 people ranging from ages of 26-68 who need to be able to use the scanner, some of whom work solo overnight only 3-4 times a month. They are trainable, but ideally it is something we can make an easy to follow tip sheet of 1-2 pages that will allow them to get a decent, basic scan, even if they aren’t experts at it.

– The user needs to be able to tell in real time if they are getting a correct, complete scan, so I think something with a built-in screen is necessary (but if you have other thoughts, I’m open to them!). Sometimes we only have one shot to get the memory items done in cases where the county medical examiner is involved and cannot go back and re-do something if it doesn’t turn out.

– Capable of being used in a large variety of lighting levels. We will not be able to set up separate, additional lighting sources due to hospital regulations.

– Able to be manipulated around a hand or foot with limited mobility/movement. Would like to be able to get a decent scan even if hand/foot is resting on the bed and unable to be lifted, even if that means the scan will not be a full 360 degrees (we would print it on a flat base in those cases).

-Capable of picking up important details like fingernails and hand’s creases/lines. Do not need fine enough detail for finger prints.

– Able to reliably scan all skin tones. We don’t need it to actually store color data, as we will be 3d printing, but need to be able to offer the same quality of scan regardless of a child’s skin tone.

– A relatively quick scanning process. One of several reasons we would like to move away from plaster molds is that it can sometimes take half an hour or more to complete just the gel mold piece. That means in some cases we’re taking precious time away from the family who is there to hold their child’s body and say their goodbyes. Ideally no more than 7 minutes per scan.

– Reliable, secure data saving. We need to not lose one set of scans when we have more than one death before myself or our tech are able to download them. We average around 150 deaths per year and multiple deaths can and do happen in the same 24 hour period across the hospital.

Based on our research thus far, it seems like something like the Revopoint Miraco or the Einstar Vega is going to be our best bet, but I’ve read lots on this sub about issues with each. So, please, info-dump any ideas/suggestions you have!