Strains and Stresses Distribution at the Socket of a Lower Limb Under the Knee Prosthesis

The socket, connecting the prosthetic to the stump, is the most important component for the amputee patient. It comes into direct contact with the stump and causes mechanical loads.

The aims of the presented study were to analyze and compare the strains and stresses in the stump for different prosthetic socket models for below the knee amputation and to design a modified improved model

A stress-strain simulations were conducted using ANSYS on CAD build geometrical models of different types of sockets in varied stumps and pathologies, during standing and walking.

The obtained results showed no significant difference between the different types of socket. Short bone leads to higher stresses. Moreover, there is a significant improvement of 8% in most socket types when adding padding. Thus, it is suggested, that socket with additional thickness of 3 mm may allow patients wear the prosthesis over longer hours which improve their quality of life, as well as reduce the risk of injury and pain.