Have you ever been walking down the street or watching a video and seen someone with a prosthetic limb? Did you wonder how it was made or who made it? Well, I can tell you that it was made by a team of biomedical engineers and prosthetists. But what does it really take to make a prosthetic?
Prosthetic limbs vary in size, shape, use and more, but all start with one step. All prosthetics are made by prosthetists, who use equipment to make their patients fake limbs. First a prosthetist will make a cast of the patient’s residual limb (the remaining part of the patient’s limb) using plastic, fiberglass, or a 3D scanner. A 3D scanner is the more advanced of the three, immediately providing precise measurements of the residual limb.
Since its introduction in the early to mid 80s, a lot of companies have started using Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD-CAM) to make and fit prosthetic limbs. With the 3D scan, the prosthetists make a 3D model using general purpose CAD software to shape it to the desired configuration. Then they use heat and a vacuum to form a clear plastic mold which they then take off the model to make a test socket. Once they have an electric file they can create a socket for the residual limb. Once the test socket fits, the prosthetists can review it and enhance it to make the real socket. When the real socket is created, the prosthetic device is made. Often out of carbon fibre, aluminum, silicon and plastics. The body of the prosthetic is what has the mechanics to make the artificial body part move and work.
After the prosthetic is created, the manufacturing process is over, but the patient will try it on and give any feedback on adjustments or fit. When the patient has their prosthetic, they work with their physician on physical therapy and the physician will work with the manufacturing company that made the prosthetic in case any problems arise or changes are needed. This ensures that the patient has the best prosthesis they could get.
In order for prosthetists to make the limb, they need the technology and equipment created by biomedical engineers, whose main job is to use their knowledge of engineering and medicine to develop artificial organs such as organ-on-chip technology which reproduces a tiny human organ to create and simulate important functions, physical responses, and prosthetics to improve patient quality of life.
Biomedical engineers work in labs, hospitals, or research centers with teams of engineers and doctors. Biomedical engineering research helps the day to day life of many amputees with prosthetics or even people with pacemakers to help their heart. Before advanced prosthetics were created, many people who needed them found it difficult to get a job or support their families.
Prosthetics are made by using molds or scans to make a 3D model in order to make a limb to replace the missing body part of the patient. None of this technology would be available without the research and designs of many biomedical engineers.