A researcher at Loughborough University, England, has pioneered a fully digital design-to-manufacturing process that could advance prosthetic lower-limb socket production outside of medical settings. The method, developed by Simin Li, PhD, in the university’s School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, uses a variety of technologies and unique coding to create a socket through a fully digital process.
By capturing a 3D scan of the user’s limb with a digital scanner and employing computer-aided design software, a personalized design profile is generated, which can be imported into a 3D printer for manufacturing. The result is a fully customized socket that can be produced in as little as eight hours, making the process significantly faster than current methods.
“By using a fully digital design-to-manufacturing workflow and additive manufacturing—or 3D printing as it’s commonly known—our entire process for creating a socket is quantitative and iterative, therefore, highly customizable, repeatable, and efficient,” Li said. “By using the innovative digital solution, healthcare professions can focus more of their valuable time with users and therefore, increase the accessibility for all and on-demand.
“The ultimate goal for this project is to make the design and manufacturing process easier and more accessible for both the healthcare professions and users so that one day the prosthetic socket can be manufactured in local community areas, hospitals, and even in users’ homes on demand.”
Li and the research team have optimized their 3D-printed socket designs through extensive testing, which involves subjecting printed prototypes to loads ranging from 6,000 to 16,000 Newtons, equivalent to seven to 20 times the user’s body weight.
The team’s technique also allows them to increase design freedoms, meaning they can make regions on the socket harder or softer depending on the users’ needs, which Li hopes will improve comfort and further facilitate users’ participation in play, physical activity, and sports.
The next step is to collaborate with academic and industrial partners to transform the prototypes into real-world products and explore the application of their process in diverse settings.
“I hope to see this research one day benefiting lower-limb prosthetic users worldwide and kick-start broader discussions about using 3D printing for medical devices and beyond,” Li said. “Currently, the entry barriers for accessing healthcare facilities, medical professionals, and 3D printing techniques in remote locations is too high.
Editor’s note: This story was adapted from materials provided by Loughborough University.
To watch a video of the technique, visit the university’s website.
