Authors (including presenting author) :
Wong CY(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Prosthetics & Orthotics Department, Prince of Wales Hospital
Introduction :
Conventional customized prosthesis relies on complicated skills and labour-intensive steps for production. Additive manufacturing, refers to 3D-Printing technology (3DP), has become widely use in the Prosthetic and Orthotic (P&O) services recently. The purpose of the study was to develop a novel methodology for design and manufacturing of a customized partial foot prosthesis (CPFP) by utilizing 3DP. The study has established the ability of producing CPFP directly by 3DP which can reduce the service delivery time when comparing with conventional method to improve the treatment efficiency.
Objectives :
A new method for designing and manufacturing of CPFP based on reverse engineering and direct 3DP process has been established.
Methodology :
One male subject with congenital malformation of foot on the left side was recruited for the study. The subject has a smaller foot with malformed toes comparing to the right side.
Both the sound side and the prosthetic side of foot are captured by high precision scanner, M4D Scan (Rodin 4D, France) in the form of 3D digitized mesh model. The 3D models were then imported in STL format to the Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) software, Cube (Rodin 4D, France) to ensure the prosthesis is symmetrical to the patient’s contralateral side for acceptable cosmetic outcome and the individual anatomy can be reserved. The CPFP was obtained after accurately aligning the mirrored sound foot relative to the residual limb, then Boolean operations were applied to create the socket model. To ensure increased loading of pressure-tolerable tissue and relieved pressure on sensitive tissue of the residual limb, the socket was modified. The modified CPFP model was 3D printed using the Form 3B 3D printing system (Formlabs Inc., Massachusetts, USA) with Flexible 80A Resin. The comfort and cosmetic acceptance of the CPFP and the conventional prosthesis experienced by subject will be accessed.
Result & Outcome :
The subject reported total comfort using the CPFP during walking, as well as cosmetic advantages when comparing to the conventional prosthesis. CPFP restores mobility including gait stability and push off during gait. In view of the psychological aspect, higher self-esteem and peer acceptance has been reported by subject after using the CPFP.
