Additive manufacturing for prostheses development: state of the art

Abstract

Purpose Medical devices are undergoing rapid changes because of the increasing affordability of advanced technologies like additive manufacturing (AM) and three-dimensional scanning. New avenues are available for providing solutions and comfort that were not previously conceivable. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the research on developing prostheses using AM to understand the opportunities and challenges in the domain. Various studies on prosthesis development using AM are investigated to explore the scope of integration of AM in prostheses development. Design/methodology/approach A review of key publications from the past two decades was conducted. Integration of AM and prostheses development is reviewed from the technologies, materials and functionality point of view to identify challenges, opportunities and future scope. Findings AM in prostheses provides superior physical and cognitive ergonomics and reduced cost and delivery time. Patient-specific, lightweight solutions for complex designs improve comfort, functionality and clinical outcomes. Compared to existing procedures and methodologies, using AM technologies in prosthetics could benefit a large population. Originality/value This paper helps investigate the impact of AM and related technology in the field of prosthetics and can also be viewed as a collection of relevant medical research and findings.