CAD Optimization of an Ankle Foot Orthosis Using Lattice Structures

Abstract

Additive manufacturing technologies have been extensively used in the development of medical products, mainly due to its' complex geometry advantages. Orthoses are among the most common medical devices redesigned for additive manufacturing, as patient specific products. Currently, most of these orthoses are thermoformed from plastic. Advantages of custom and topologically optimized orthosis are mentioned by literature. The aim of this paper is to study the possibility of using lattice structures for the design and development of a functional ankle foot orthosis. The mechanical behavior of an ankle foot orthosis is studied, by optimization using lattice structures, for three different materials, to reduce its weight but also to keep its original resistance. The resulted ankle foot orthosis model is loaded with 500 N, to simulate the real-life value of the force that is applied normally on an actual orthosis. Research results show that the optimum material is PET-G for both 50% and 100% lattice values.