Abstract:

Due of its complex geometric benefits, additive manufacturing technologies have been widely employed in the creation of medical goods. Orthoses are one of the most common medical device that is best suited to be redesigned with the help of additive manufacturing techniques according to the patient’s needs. Ankle-foot orthoses are mainly used to immobilize the foot, providing both support and assistance, making possible for the patient to move through various stages of the gait. Currently, most of the orthoses that are made through conventional methods are heavy for patients, if they are made of a metallic alloy. In order to optimize the weight of such devices, lattice structures are a viable option due to their capabilities. Lattice structures can help improve reducing the weight of the part and also, they keep the original mechanical properties. These lattice structures can be applied using CAD software, but also lattice generating software such as MeshMixer, nTopology Element Pro or MediAce3D. This paper studies the optimization of an ankle foot orthosis using variable thickness lattice structures using the nTopology Element Pro.