Affordable and Faster Transradial Prosthetic Socket Production Using Photogrammetry and 3D Printing

Abstract

This study aims to invent a new, low-cost, and faster method of prosthetic socket fabrication, especially in Indonesia. In this paper, the photogrammetry with the 3D printing method is introduced as the new applicative way for transradial prosthetic making. Photogrammetry is used to retrieve a 3D model of the amputated hand stump using a digital camera. A digital camera is used for photogrammetry technique and the resulting 3D model is printed using a circular 3D printer with Polylactic acid (PLA) material. The conventional casting socket fabrication method was also conducted in this study as a comparison. Both prosthetic sockets were analyzed for usability, and sectional area conformities to determine the size deviation using the image processing method. This study concludes that the manufacturing of transradial prosthetic sockets incorporating the photogrammetry technique reduces the total man-hour production. Based on the results, it can be implied that the photogrammetry technique is a more efficient and economical method compared to the conventional casting method. The 3D printed socket resulting from the photogrammetry method has a 5–19% area deviation to the casting socket but it is still preferable and adjustable for the transradial amputee when applied to the stump of the remaining hand.

A Multi-User Transradial Functional-Test Socket for Validation of New Myoelectric Prosthetic Control Strategies

“…We developed a novel, universal 3D-printed socket that rapidly provides myoelectric control to individuals with transradial amputation in research settings. The 3D-printed fabrication approach has shown to be an appropriate short-term alternative to conventional techniques, offering high functionality at a small fraction of the time and cost of traditional socket-fabrication methods (Hallworth et al, 2020;Ismail et al, 2020). Our socket can be fabricated in ∼7 h at any time prior to participant arrival, custom fit within 10 mins, and donned in under a minute.…”

“…Additionally, the socket must be manufactured at a low cost, utilizing common manufacturing and printing materials, to ensure accessibility. Conventional transradial sockets intended for long-term use range from $800 to $3,000 USD (Limb Prostheses (Conventional) Product Manual, 2012;Frossard et al, 2017), with recently developed low-cost alternatives ranging from $100 to $200 USD-the cost of which may still be prohibitively high-making the desired cost under $100 USD (Alkhatib et al, 2019;Ismail et al, 2020;Miller et al, 2020). A device intended for short-term research could feasibly be even more economical still.…”

“…Such weight distribution is key to supporting loads beyond that of the terminal devices and accommodating ADLs. The weight of the socket is ∼150 g, which is at the low end of the 100-to 420-g range for traditional sockets and low-cost alternatives (Lenka and Choudhury, 2011;Ismail et al, 2020). Incorporating a layer of memory foam beneath the greatest load-bearing strut further increases comfort.…”

“…Additionally, an adjustable myoelectric socket could be used with multiple individuals and multiple terminal devices. Recent work toward reducing the cost of custom, individualized sockets has focused on 3D printing, embedded gel liners, and expandable foams (Buis et al, 2017;Reissman et al, 2018;Hallworth et al, 2020;Ismail et al, 2020;Miller et al, 2020;Olsen et al, 2021). These sockets have the added advantage of not requiring a prosthetist for the fabrication and fitting processes.…”

The Use of Smartphone Photogrammetry to Digitise Transtibial Sockets: Optimisation of Method and Quantitative Evaluation of Suitability

“…Photogrammetry is a digitisation technique in which a collection of 2D photographs from different viewpoints of an object are analysed with specialised software. Key elements are identified that can be seen in multiple images, allowing points to be located in a 3D space relative to each other, forming a 3D surface mesh [19][20][21].…”