Impact of advanced manufacturing technology on prosthetic and orthotic practice.

Radical changes in the technology applied to prosthetics and orthotics are being proposed. This paper attempts to define the scope and character of advanced manufacturing technology and examines the rehabilitation problems which are or could be tackled. Lower-limb prosthetics has been the major area under investigation so far, but orthopaedic footwear, spinal orthotics and custom seating for the disabled have also been investigated using similar technological approaches. The whole process of patient measurement, device design, and component manufacture is conceived as an integrated system relying upon shape or tissue property sensing, computer based device design and computer-numerically-controlled or robot manufacturing processes. The aim is to retain flexibility for custom design which is necessary to provide for individual patients, and yet improve the rapidity and precision of overall device manufacture and service delivery.