An Experimental and Theoretical Framework for Manufacturing Prosthetic Sockets for Transtibial Amputees

TLDR

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a powerful manufacturing technology that does not require part‑specific tooling or significant human intervention and enables the easy creation of complex geometric parts. This study develops a manufacturing framework using SLS to produce subject‑specific transtibial amputee prosthetic sockets from Duraform PA, a nylon‑based material. The framework establishes a patellar‑tendon‑bearing socket design, performs finite‑element structural analysis, and validates the model by comparing predicted failure loads with experimental bending and compression tests. In a case study, the FEM predictions were within 3 % of the experimental failure loads, indicating satisfactory accuracy.

Abstract

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a powerful manufacturing technology that does not require part-specific tooling or significant human intervention and provides the ability to easily generate parts with complex geometric designs. The present work focuses on developing a manufacturing framework using this technology to produce subject-specific transtibial amputee prosthetic sockets made of Duraform PA, which is a nylon-based material. The framework includes establishing an overall socket design (using the patellar-tendon bearing approach), performing a structural analysis using the finite element method (FEM) to ensure structural reliability during patient use, and validating the results by comparing the model output with experimental data. The validation included quantifying the failure conditions for the socket through a series of bending moment and compression tests. In the case study performed, the FEM results were within 3% of the experimental failure loads for the socket and were considered satisfactory