Increasing Accessibility of 3D-Printed Customized Prosthetics in Resource-Constrained Communities

Abstract

Abstract Customized prosthetics are often inaccessible in resource-constrained communities. The authors of this work identify two significant barriers. First, obtaining a digital representation of the residual body is inaccessible. The proposed methods overcome this issue by achieving digital representation via smartphones. Second, determining the design and 3D printing process is challenging. Although additive manufacturing technology is widely adopted to fabricate customized prosthetics because of its high accessibility, it has a drawback in that the printing conditions significantly influence mechanical functionality. This issue can be magnified in resource-constrained communities with limited access to high-end 3D-printing technology and filaments. To overcome this issue, we propose a method to predict the mechanical functionality of the prosthetic printed in various printing processes. Finally, a case study demonstrating the implementation of the proposed methods is presented. The case study represents designing customized prosthetic sockets for patients with below-knee amputation on the right leg with a low to mid-end 3D printer. The authors aim to (1) increase accessibility in achieving an accurate digital model of the residual body and (2) reduce the effort of professionals in the 3D printing process, encouraging the implementation of 3D printing, especially in fused filament fabrication/Fused deposition modeling.