Transtibial prosthetic socket design: Understanding the requirements for a healthy residual limb

假肢用于部分恢复截肢的功能。因此，假肢是许多人恢复社会和经济生活的途径。全世界有3000多万小腿截肢者，大多数人都能使用的假肢必须充分满足使用者的需求。然而，在目前的经胫骨假体（用于膝下截肢）设计中，约25 - 57%的用户选择放弃他们的假体。这主要归因于截肢和假肢之间的界面，该界面由假肢接受腔和内衬组成。放弃的比例很高，表明有很大的研究和发展空间。缺乏有效的设计是由于难以全面理解和解决设计挑战，因为这需要生物学、生物力学、机械和制造工程、临床知识和经验等多学科知识。在文献中，有明确的相互联系和相互作用之间的插座设计参数和截肢。在假肢接受腔设计的发展过程中，这种系统性在很大程度上没有得到考虑。记录了系统性被认为是设计结果明显改善的文献。因此，该项目旨在通过考虑整体设计方法来扩展这一轨迹。因此，回答研究问题：如何设计和制造一个有效的和可访问的假肢接受腔？实现这一目标的方法在本博士项目的目标中概述如下：-全面调查残肢系统以及如何在日常使用中保持健康。调查当前插座设计和建模技术的局限性-使用公理设计原理调查设计，考虑制造和仿生设计，以找到插座的合适设计参数。利用以前的研究成果，推导出一种新的假肢接受腔的制造和设计过程--通过开发截肢和接受腔的计算机和物理模型来测试和验证设计。潜在的应用包括生产一种低成本的假肢接受腔，该接受腔可以修改为包括其他类型的截肢。此外，这项研究可以改善人机交互，例如，在可穿戴设备和其他可穿戴设备中。

A prosthesis serves to restore the functions of an amputated limb partially. A prosthesis is, therefore, a gateway for a restored social and economic life for many. With over 30 million lower leg amputees worldwide, the prosthesis which are accessible to most must sufficiently cater to the user's needs. However, with current transtibial prosthesis (for below the knee amputations) designs, around 25 - 57% of users choose to abandon their prosthesis. This is primarily attributed to the interface between the amputated limb and the prosthesis, which is comprised of the prosthetic socket and liner. The high proportion of abandonment indicates there is much room for research and development. The lack of effective design is due to the difficulty in holistically understanding and solving the design challenges because this requires multidisciplinary knowledge across biology, biomechanics, mechanical and manufacturing engineering, clinical knowledge, and experience. In the literature, there is clear interconnectivity and interplay between the socket design parameters and the amputated limb. This systematic nature is largely not considered in the development of prosthetic socket design. The literature in which systematic nature is considered a clear improvement in design outcomes is recorded. This project, therefore, aims to expand in that trajectory by considering a holistic approach to design. And thus, answer the research question: how to design and manufacture an effective and accessible prosthetic socket? The method to achieve this is outlined below in the objectives of this PhD project:- To holistically investigate the residual limb system and how to maintain it healthy in everyday use.- To investigation the limitations to current socket design and modelling techniques - To investigate the design using Axiomatic design principles, consideration for the design for manufacture and biomimicry to find suitable design parameters for the socket.- Using the previous investigations to derive a novel manufacturing and design process for prosthetic sockets - To test and validate the design through the development of computer and physical models of an amputated limb and socket.The potential application includes the production of a low-cost prosthetic socket which can be modified to include other types of amputation. Additionally, this research could improve the human-machine interaction, for example, in wearable devices and other wearable equipment.