Direct Production for Prosthetic Sockets using Rapid Prototyping

The number of people of having legs amputated due to traffic accidents or diabetes is increasing. To solve problems of artificial limb supply, CAD/CAM is starting to be used for creating artificial limb components. Many parts of the manufacturing process for the prosthetic industry remain to be automated, however Rapid prototyping technology may be useful in producing prosthetic sockets. We tested the ability of laser lithography in manufacturing prosthetic sockets, detailed as follows: (1) Construction of the production system for prosthetic sockets, (2) Material testing (tensile strength, bending strength, impact test), (3) Environmental test (humidity test, solar radiation test), (4) Structural load test (repeated load test, breaking test, wear test, field test), and (5) Allergic reaction test. Experiments confirmed the practicality of this system.