AUTOMATED DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL LIMBS

摘要

The system for automated design and construction of artificial limb amputees consists of an array of ultrasound transducers (16) especially constructed to insonify the residual limb of an amputee. The time-of-flight information recovered from this procedure is then stored in a computer (32), where it can be processed to provide dimensional information with regard to the relative location of the limb, skin, and bone surfaces in space. This three-dimensional information is then used to produce an image of the limb with a computer aided design system (32) for customized prosthetic design and manufacture by a numerically controlled mill (34).