A new design frame work for lower limb prosthesis

Modular prosthesis for lower limbs is mainly made by commercial components except for the socket that is highly customised and manufactured around the patient stump. This paper presents a knowledge based framework to design lower limb prosthesis that integrates virtual prototyping and knowledge management techniques. The designer is guided and supported step by step during the configuration process of the prosthesis by specific domain experts’ knowledge, providing rules and suggestions acquired from the analysis of the traditional manufacturing process. The virtual model of the prosthesis is centred on the patient digital model and on his/her characteristics (e.g. anthropometric and physiological data) that guide both the selection of standard components and the definition of the socket digital model.