DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A CAD/3DP PROCESS FOR TRANSTIBIAL SOCKET FABRICATION

Abstract

This paper describes a multidisciplinary project that applied the concept of reverse engineering using computer-aided design (CAD) tools to develop a three-dimensional printing (3DP)-based prosthetic socket for transtibial amputees by combining the concepts of patellar tendon-bearing (PTB) socket design principle and total surface-bearing (TSB) socket casting method. Using contemporary tools such as a handheld 3D scanner and an entry-level 3DP machine, together with an in-house prosthetic socket design system and a stump forming device, allowed us to fabricate prosthetic sockets with a consistent quality, and to shorten the learning process time-frame to fabricate them. The results of a case study of two participants demonstrated that the proposed CAD/3DP process of fabrication of transtibial sockets can be easily applied by an unskilled prosthetist to fabricate a socket with the required quality at the first fitting.