Biomechanical evaluation techniques for personalized lower-limb prosthetic socket designing

The functional performance of a lower - limb prosthesis and the patient's feeling are ultimately affected by socket design. Stress distribution on the interface between residual limb and socket is very important for socket design. This article aims at developing tools and techniques used to set up finite element model and stress analysis for personalized lower - limb prosthetic socket designing system. In the paper presented, a novel technique system, which can integrate FEA with current CAD/CAM systems, was developed to provide designers the stress distribution as a quantitative evaluation. This system is consisted of 3D visualization of stump/socket shape, finite element auto - meshing and stress analysis. The application of this system will improve the socket design.