Service offered | Virtual FEM-based planning of prosthetic sockets

Comfortable Socket by Virtual Fit

Virtual socket fitting process from patient to final product.

The process of manufacturing comfortable and functional prosthetic sockets is highly complex and unique to each patient. In terms of the motion dynamics, it is necessary to consider the physiological tissue properties as well as the biomechanical functions of the socket. An experienced orthopedic technician can make a good assessment of these, but there are still some complex processes and adaptation iterations that need to be carried out before the final socket is ready. This is because the shape of a socket is dependent on the 3D tissue formation and these two factors influence one another. The only way to determine the ideal comfortable socket shape is to perform validated finite element analyses of how the patient-specific stump model interacts with the socket. In addition, the comfort of the socket while individual dynamic loads are applied during movement is analyzed and assessed using musculoskeletal simulations. The fully digital development process also opens up new opportunities for innovative design concepts. In conjunction with additive manufacturing, this can result in affordable, personalized prosthetic sockets that have undergone virtual mechanical testing.

Services

• Creating patient-specific, detailed physiological and biomechanical stump models
• Virtual optimization of the shape of the socket for the prosthesis or orthosis based on comfort criteria relating to tissue strain in a static scenario (standing) and a dynamic load scenario (flexion/extension, adduction/abduction)
• Structural design suitable for the load for products, produced through 3D printing or from composite materials