A Feasibility Study to Create a Prototype of Prosthetic Foot for Lower-Limb Amputees

Abstract

            This project aimed to develop a prototype of prosthetic foot which was employed as a guideline for improving the production of artificial medical devices. In addition, this product developed may help to reduce the demands of prosthetic foot on imports which at present, a price of prosthetic foot, considered as a medical device, is rather high cost (ranging approximately from 2,500 to 6,200 Baht). In this research, a solid ankle cushion heel (SACH) foot was studied and developed as a product of this type because of the lower production cost, as compared to others, and the availability of raw materials. This product may be suitable for the lower-limb amputees receiving treatment at hospitals in the remote areas and for supporting governmental agencies with inadequate budgets. To produce the prototype, a plaster mold was created through a casting technique, while a work piece of prosthetic foot was made from a polymeric material, polyurethane (PU). A piece of solid wood was shaped using CNC technology to form the core of prosthetic foot. From financial assessment, the production cost of the prototype was 1,869.93 Baht, a reduction of 603.07 Baht per piece as compared to the prices of those prosthetic foot devices in the commercial markets (2,500 Baht per piece). Therefore, this device developed is economically valuable as a product which is considerably lower production cost than that of imported devices.