DESIGN EVOLUTION
From the first to the third senior design team, the prosthetic foot has taken on many iterations. Design evolution is a critical destination on the road to excellence. Over the past few years Step Up prosthetics has developed several designs in the search to optimize quality, prioritize ease of manufacturing, and to minimize cost.
Drawing inspiration from the human foot as well as developing an in depth understanding of what makes a prosthetic foot functional, this was one of the early designs from the Year 1 team.
The final design from Year 1 maintains the J shaped curve while using carbon fiber. Overall this design took leaps in transitioning from a lower quality SACH foot by reducing the energy loss and increasing energy return.
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Year 2 dove further into the use of 3D printing by the previous year. Innovating to effectively cast a 3D printed insert into a urethane shell. The insert featured a split down the center of the foot to support the flexibility of the foot for the patient when experiencing a tilt from side to side.
In order to mimic the weight of a real foot, the Year 3 team created fillers to not only reduce weight but serve the added benefit of increasing flexibility and durability.
