DESPRO Project: a computer assisted methodology for prosthesis development

The design of custom-fit products, especially those with a tight interface with the human body, cannot be carried out using methods and tools developed for other industrial fields (i.e. mechanical field), for mass production or for modular products, but it is necessary to realize “ad hoc” methodologies, because of the wide variety of morphologic and anatomical situations to deal with. The work presented in this paper refers to the implementation of a design paradigm for a specific custom-fit product, a prosthesis socket (interface between the residual limb and the mechanical part of the prosthesis), through the integration of advanced ICT tools coming from the reverse engineering, the physics-based modelling and simulation, and the rapid prototyping fields. The paper describes problems related to the implementation of each step within a real socket development process. The work has been developed in the framework of an Italian PRIN Project (Research Project of National Interest) named DESPRO (Integration of Innovative Methodologies to DESign and Develop Custom-fit Products: Application and validation for a Socket of a Lower Limb PROsthesis) funded by Italian Research Ministry.