Design of a 3D printed prosthetic socket that accommodates pediatric growth

Design of a 3D printed prosthetic socket that accommodates pediatric growth

Snijder, T.A.

Wang, C.C. (mentor)
Doubrovski, E.L. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Design Engineering

2017-05-24

Inability to adapt to growth is a problem in the field of pediatric prostheses. Current prostheses do not adapt to the normal growth of children’s limbs and require constant visits to health care providers for adjustment or replacement. To solve this issue a new socket was designed making use of auxetic metamaterials. The residual limb of the pediatric user is scanned and a growth prediction is made based on the input scan. A thermo-adaptive socket is designed by 3D printing an auxetic cell structure of PCL which accommodates two years of growth. Polycaprolactone (PCL) was selected as the building material for the socket. With a melting temperature of 60ᵒC the socket can be adapted to the limb after being placed in a bath of water at 55ᵒC. A socket prototype was designed in collaboration with orthotics at De Hoogstraat

3D printing
Auxetic
Upper-limb
Prosthetic Socket
Pediatric
Growth
Polycaprolactone
PCL
Metamaterial
Design

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:2e14b478-0d58-4486-b38b-243f5984b308

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2017 Snijder, T.A.