Pilot study of the wrist orthosis design process

David Palousek
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic

Jiri Rosicky
Faculty of Health Studies, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic, and

Daniel Koutny, Pavel Stoklasek and Tomas Navrat

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a manufacturing methodology for a wrist orthosis. The case study aims to offer new approaches in
the area of human orthoses.
Design/methodology/approach The article describes the utilization of rapid prototyping (RP), passive stereo photogrammetry and software tools
for the orthosis design process. This study shows the key points of the design and manufacturing methodology. The approach uses specific technologies,
such as 3D digitizing, reverse engineering and polygonal-surface software, FDM RP and 3D printing.
Findings The results show that the used technologies reflect the patients requirements and also they could be an alternative solution to the standard
method of orthosis design.
Research limitations/implications The methodology provides a good position for further development issues.
Practical implications The methodology could be usable for clinical practice and allows the manufacturing of the perfect orthosis of the upper limb.
The usage of this methodology depends on the RP system and type of material.
Originality/value The article describes a particular topical problem and it is following previous publications in the field of human orthoses. The paper
presents the methodology of wrist orthosis design and manufacturing. The paper presents an alternative approach applicable in clinical practice.
Keywords Reverse engineering, Rapid prototyping, FDM, 3D digitizing, Wrist orthosis
Paper type Case study
following one of two approaches, both of which are contact
processes. The first approach entails the manufacturing of a
negative plaster cast. It is then filled with plaster to produce a
plaster model (copy). The plaster copy is then used for the
formation of thermoplastic material (PE polyethylene, CPP
copolymer polypropylene), manually or by means of a vacuum.
A plastic shell is subsequently cut and ground to the desired shape
and finished (adding padding, fastening straps, etc.).
The second option uses low-temperature thermoplastic
(Aquaplast), which is formed directly on the hand.
Furthermore, it is necessary to complete the orthosis (trimming,
hemming the edges, fastening straps). The described procedure is
suitable only for the orthosis, which is not expected to significantly
correct the problem. Both methods are not used in mass
production. Digitizing technologies and RP allows contactless
production, which can be less stressful for the patient and
allows easy repeatability in case of failure of the product. This text
focuses on the area of orthoses, that is to say, on the tools for
maintaining mutually movable parts of the body in a fixed position.

1. Introduction
1.1 Motivation
The current state of knowledge allows a solution of the
production of upper limb orthoses using advanced technologies
such as rapid prototyping (RP) and reverse engineering (RE).
These approaches, nowadays in common practice, allow the
realization of products on a higher level, especially in terms of
design and comfort of use. The question is: are these technologies
able to be effectively implemented to make an orthosis for the
upper limb and thus improve its functional characteristics? Are
the technologies effective and affordable and are the procedures
reliable in results? Can the manufacturing process be significantly
simplified? This case study tries to provide the answers to the
aforementioned questions. The case study was developed in
cooperation with a manufacturer of prosthetic and orthotic
devices in the Czech Republic and focuses on the manufacturing
process, and intends to explore the feasibility of the approach.
1.2 Manufacturing
Orthoses are used for the immobilisation of the forearm, wrist
and hand to relieve long-term conditions or support
injured limbs. It also serves as a substitute for plaster splints
after surgery. The production of the orthosis is accomplished by

The work described in this paper was completed in cooperation with the
orthotic-prosthetic facility ING Corporation, s.r.o. in Frydek-Mistek and
the Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Studies, University of
Ostrava and the Institute of Machine and Industrial Design Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology. The present
work has been supported by European Regional Development Fund in the
framework of the research project NETME Centre under the Operational
Programme Research and Development for Innovation NETME
Centre, ED0002/01/01, CZ. 1.05/2.1.00/01.0002. All the authors declare
that they have no conflicts of interest.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1355-2546.htm

Rapid Prototyping Journal

20/1 (2014) 27 32
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1355-2546]
[DOI 10.1108/RPJ-03-2012-0027]

Received: 7 October 2011

Revised: 26 July 2012
Accepted: 2 October 2012

27

Pilot study of the wrist orthosis design process

Rapid Prototyping Journal

David Palousek et al.

Volume 20 Number 1 2014 27 32

2. Methods

1.3 Current state of knowledge

The area of 3D digitizing and rapid additive manufacturing
for the manufacturing of artificial limbs and leg orthoses
provides a good source of information in relation to the issues
explored in this paper.
Cook et al. (2010) deals with finding the ideal way of
reproducing the rather complicated variable thickness
pedorthosis geometry and using appropriate materials. 3D
scanning was used in order to obtain the geometry. For the
creation of the pedorthosis, several approaches were
considered, including direct manufacturing, additive-based
molding, laser cutting of foam and several combinations of these
approaches. The 3D Systems Inc (Rock Hill, USA) Selective
Laser Sintering (SLS) was used for hard-shell manufacturing
and SLA-5000 stereolithography for the soft inner layer.
Faustini et al. (2008) addresses the use of SLS technology
for the manufacture of passive dynamic ankle-foot orthoses
(AFO-PD). The primary objective of this study was to explore the
feasibility of using a SLS, as a PD-AFO manufacturing process.
RP and 3D digitizing are also applicable to the design of
custom-made prostheses and orthoses. A good example might be
an article dealing with the construction of the ankle brace
(Mavroidis et al., 2011). This paper describes a methodology for
the production of an individual AFO with the use of 3D
scanning, RP and mutual comparison (in terms of biomechanics)
with the individual brace produced by a standard technique. The
results of the work show that the brace has almost the same
biomechanical effect on walking as standard products.
A manufacturing process of ankle-foot orthosis with the aim
of restoring the motion of the ankle-foot complex has been
previously described (Milusheva et al., 2006). For the design of
the orthosis, a scanned geometry of the patients legs and CT
data were used.
The production of prosthetic devices using 3D scanning
technology and RP is relatively well described, especially in
the case of facial replacements (Sansoni et al., 2009).
Besides the methodology of design and production of
individual ankle-foot orthoses, attention is also paid to the
manufacturing precision of RP technologies (Schrank and
Stanhope, 2011).
In the case of the upper limb orthosis, similar procedures are
used (Toshev et al., 2005). The cast of the upper limb is scanned
and then transferred to the surface model. On the basis of the
surface model, a construction of the brace is created in CAD. The
aim of this case study was to propose a suitable methodology of
design workflow for the static individual human upper limb
orthoses (WHO wrist hand orthosis) by the use of RE and RP
as the final production technology. The development was carried
out in cooperation with a manufacturer of prosthetic and orthotic
devices.
Another example is the use of 3D digitization and RP for
the implementation of transradial and transtibial patient
wearing socket realized by use of the Z Corporation Inc
(Burlington, USA) Z402 3D printer (Herbert et al., 2005).
This technology can also serve for production of the master
model, which is used for further processing, e.g.
thermoforming of medical devices (Chimento et al., 2011).
The article describes the testing of porosity of the models
made by powder technology (Z Corporation) used for
thermoforming of thin thermoplastic sheets.
Interesting work is presented in a review article (Hieu et al.,
2005), which states the construction of new custom-made elbow
orthoses from 3D models of the elbow and fabricated by SSL.

The whole manufacturing methodology of this case study

covers five main steps (Figure 1):
1 data acquisition of the upper limb one side geometry;
2 polygonal data processing;
3 parametric surface generating;
4 CAD design process;
5 RP of the orthosis;
6 surface finishing, coloring; and
7 testing.
2.1 Data acquisition
Scanning was performed with a di3D FCS-100 photo scanner
from Dimensional Imaging. This FCS-100 scanning system is
specifically designed to capture 3D surface images of human
faces or the whole body. It uses four 10 megapixel cameras to
create 3D models with highly detailed texture maps (a resolution
of up to 21 megapixels). All photos are captured at one moment
and the model is then created in a few seconds. The digitized
geometry of the limb surface was saved in a polygonal STL
format (48,058 points, 94,763 polygons). The need of only one
scan during the scanning procedure was taken advantage of,
because the design of the orthosis is similar to the design of a
conventional orthosis, one side type (Figure 5), there was no
need to scan a limb from multiple sides to get complete scan of
the limb, which greatly accelerates and simplifies the whole
process. On the other hand, this process is much more
complicated where the whole limb is required or when multiple
captures have to be taken and aligned (Paterson et al., 2010).
The limb position during digitization should be identical to
the position inside the orthosis, which is determined by a doctor
according to the type of disability, course of treatment, etc.
2.2 Polygonal data processing
Data obtained by digitization of the limb were processed in
ATOS 6.3 software (GOM mbH, Braunschweig, Germany),
where the analysis of network errors, closing holes and
smoothing of the polygonal network was performed. Using
the softwares features, the surface model was smoothed
(Figure 2) as much as possible, which greatly facilitated the
creation of new surfaces in regard to other design work in the
subsequently used CAD modeler.
Figure 1 Design process of the upper limb orthosis

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Pilot study of the wrist orthosis design process

Rapid Prototyping Journal

David Palousek et al.

Volume 20 Number 1 2014 27 32

Figure 3 Final CAD assembly

Figure 2 Scan of the limb after smoothing

Smoothing of the model surface does not have an essential

influence on the orthosis and its fixation on the upper limb,
because the contact area between the orthosis and the hand
will be covered by a soft, breathable fabric with a thickness of
1.8 mm to ensure user comfort. For this reason, the existing
polygonal surface was offset (in the direction from the palm to
the observer) from the original area by about 1.8 mm.
When implementing the proposed process into practice, this
step could be fully automated by use of smoothing algorithms
together with the characteristic points (called landmarks) located
in the problem areas of the scan. In the RE software, the contour
shape of the orthosis was created and the useless surfaces were
removed. For the possibility of further orthosis design by means
of parametric modelers, the surface was converted to a format
compatible with CAD systems the IGES format was used.

Holes were created using a sketch projected onto the shell

surface of the orthosis, followed by the creation of the surface
patch and subtraction of the patch from the shell to a depth of
3.5 mm. The sharp edges of the holes were rounded to ensure
smooth movement of the Velcro strap while wearing the orthosis.
For good ventilation of the skin of the orthosis user, two air
vents were designed in the shell, one in the palm area and the
second in the forearm. Based on experience, the shape and
size of the air vents holes were designed in the areas with low
loading of the shell to not adversely affect the mechanical
strength of the orthosis. Ventilation holes were created in the
same workflow as the aforementioned clamping holes.
Creation of the ventilation holes also saves building material
during 3D printing by RP methods (for some methods, there
is also a substantial reduction in production time). The final
CAD model of the orthosis without metal clips was exported
into STL format and prepared for RP production.

2.3 CAD design process

Once converted into IGES, the model was imported into the
SolidWorks parametric modeler, where volumetric data was
constructed.
In the area between the forefinger and thumb, an eyelet was
created with a hole for a Velcro strap. This design change was
made to improve patient comfort and better the fixation
abilities of the orthosis, necessary for keeping the users hand
in the desired position. Thickness was added to the modified
surface of the future orthosis, which gave the orthosis shell
volume. The orthosis is usually made from thermoplastic with
a thickness of around 2-3.5 mm, according to the required
clinical individual needs. After consultation with an
experienced orthotics expert from a cooperative orthotic
laboratory, the thickness of the orthosis was set to 3.5 mm.
Significant loading of the orthosis is not considered especially
in case of treatment of postoperative and posttraumatic states.
Basic information about the forces in the wrist can be found,
e.g. in Toderan and Lunsford (1978) article.
For the comfort and safety of the patient and to avoid
catching objects on the sharp peripheral edge, the outline
edge of the orthosis was rounded on both sides.
Hooks for the connection of the steel clips were created by
using 2D sketches onto properly positioned datum planes and
datum axis on the outer surface of the orthosis shell. The wall
thickness of the hooks was set to 3.5 mm. The clearance of
0.1 mm for the steel pin was used with respect to the RP
manufacturing technology. All edges of the hooks were rounded.
Each steel clip is connected by a pair of hooks. The creation of
properly placed hooks with respect to a suitable position of the
Velcro straps and with respect to the hooks loading was the
most time-consuming operation of the entire design process.
Because, in the palm area of the orthosis, the strap
connection cannot be made by clamping hooks and metal
clips, a direct connection of the strap using holes produced
directly in the orthosis shell was designed (Figure 3).

2.4 Rapid prototyping

The orthosis was printed on a Dimension SST1200 printer
(Stratasys Inc, Eden Prairie, USA) using FDM technology
(Figure 4). This RP technology has been used as a Direct
Digital Manufacturing in the sense that the printed model was
used as the final product.
For the creation of the orthosis prototype, 66 cm3 of ABS model
material and 77 cm3 of support material were used, the building
time was 9.5 hours, while the height of the layer was 0.25 mm.
Before assembly, the orthosis was deprived of the support
material used during construction by dissolving it in a special
bath. Soluble technology allows the removal of support material
without damaging the thin-walled products. The surface was
then manually sanded with emery paper, painted with base filler
and polished until smooth with fine sandpaper under water.
Afterwards, two coats of paint and then a clear varnish
were applied (Figure 5). This step was taken only to improve
the presentation of the final product. In the future, the use
Figure 4 Orthosis prototype made by FDM technology

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Pilot study of the wrist orthosis design process

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David Palousek et al.

Volume 20 Number 1 2014 27 32

Figure 5 Final orthosis

Figure 6 Test specimens

of a colored construction material with minimal requirements

for post-processing is expected to be used.
For comfort during use, a prosthesis interlayer between the
brace and limb is usually used (e.g. lining of PE plastics). In this
case, the fabric is used to secure user comfort and hygiene.

3. Discussion
An innovative methodology of design and manufacture of the
wrist orthosis using digital technologies throughout the whole
design cycle, including production, has been presented. It mainly
concerns itself with optical digitizing, RE, CAD modeling and RP.
The work process of the modeling and creation of a 3D
geometry of the orthosis from data obtained by scanning the
upper limb was practically verified. The application of the RE
software and SolidWorks 3D parametric modeler allows faster
design work and the creation of a high-quality geometric model.
Based on similar CAD applications, a more efficient use of time
is likely to be found. The demands on design and software skills
of the designer entail basic knowledge of RE and an
intermediate level of CAD.
A faultless geometry model is necessary for smooth
transition to the next phase of the design process, which is
the production of a fully functional prototype.
First, an RP technology ZPrinter 3D printing was used for
verification of the design. It was possible to test the function
of the connecting elements and verify the orthosis
ergonomics. In terms of ergonomics, the ZPrinter orthosis
met the expectations.
Therefore, for the second prototype, FDM technology that
works with ABS plastic (a factory designation of ABS ) was
selected. Thanks to ABS, the orthosis was more flexible and
more resistant to bending stress, and also the connection hooks
for the metal clips are not prone to cracking or breaking
(Figure 6).
Mechanical properties of layered ABS plastic were measured
using the tensile and bending tests (Figure 7). For each
measurement, six samples were used. Three measurements of
tensile test and three measurements of bending test were carried
out with respect to the different orientations of the sample
during building process (Figure 6). Measurements were taken
according to ASTM D 638-03 and ASTM D 790-03.
For comparison, the results of tensile and bending tests for
high-temperature copolymer polypropylene (CPP, Premium
Grade copolymer polypropylene, North Sea Plastics Ltd,
Glasgow, UK) and tensile tests of Aquaplast (Orfit Classic Soft,
Orfit Industries n.v., Wijnegem, Belgium) have been provided.
The measured values of ultimate tensile strength are shown
in Table I. The values varied in the order of units, therefore
the presented values have been arithmetically averaged.

Figure 7 Load extension test

Table I Material properties ABS (FDM), CPP and Aquaplast

ABS

Tension
Flat position
On the side
Upright
Bending
Flat position
On the side
Upright

30

Ultimate tensile strength (MPa)

CPP
Aquaplast

25
30
12

26.5

17

52
60
23

44.5

Pilot study of the wrist orthosis design process

Rapid Prototyping Journal

David Palousek et al.

Volume 20 Number 1 2014 27 32

Aquaplast showed enormous enlongation during the tensile

test, therefore a bending test was not carried out. Ultimate
Tensile strength was determined from an average value of
eleven measurements as Rm Fmax/S, Rm 17 MPa.
The results of measurement suggest that the material properties
are sufficient for use in this particular case. A deeper analysis of the
anisotropic behavior and comparison with other standard plastic
materials can be found, e.g. in the article of Ahn et al. (2002).

The creation of macros in CAD is one possible way, which

requires expertise and knowledge of CAD modeling.
Unfortunately, this is not a common practice in orthotic and
prosthetic companies. Another way of automation and
simplification could be the utilization of morphing. The idea is
that the scanned data would be shaped by the base shell, which
already has pre-created features such as a cut out for the thumb,
hooks for straps, air vents, etc. The shell would lay on the plane
and with morphing, would be wrapped on the scan, and thus the
shell would copy the surface geometry. It could considerably
speed up the design process.

3.1 Quality control

To determine how the smoothing of polygonal data affects the
resulting geometry, deviations between the smoothed and the
original shape were analyzed. The largest deviations were found
in the thumb, which is not essential, because the thumb is
eliminated in the subsequent designs. Large deviations can also
be seen (Figure 8) between the fingers, but it is clear that they are
irrelevant for the orthosis shape design. That means that relevant
deviations are within 2.4 mm. Although the deviation seems to be
large, it is a negative deviation, the smoothed area is above the real
geometry and does not touch the wrist surface. Therefore, it does
not affect the main function of the orthosis, which is the fixation
of the position of the wrist and the forearm. During the first tests,
no conflict of pressure onto the tissue surface was found.
Regarding the deviations, it should be also noted that in the
finished orthosis, there will be a 1.8 mm soft interlayer fabric
between the limb and the orthosis, which partially eliminates
shape deviations.

3.3 Patient
The implementation of CAD and Additive Manufacture in
the production of orthoses could contribute to increased
speed of production and patient comfort.
This study does not aim to carry out clinical tests. In practice
(Czech Republic) clinical requirements for the orthosis (effect
of the orthosis, the position of the limb) are prescribed by
specialists (orthopedist, a surgeon, rehabilitation doctor) who
are responsible for its clinical efficacy, as indicated in the
introduction. The orthotics are responsible for the technical
performance of the orthosis. However, if the presented
methodology would be used in practice as an alternative
method of production, a clinical validation will be necessary.

4. Conclusions
The RP of orthosis or prosthesis itself significantly accelerates
the process of the patients integration back into their
social environment. An aim of all medical centres and
organizations is to increase the patients comfort and improve
the environment in which the orthotic or prosthetic devices are
developed and tested. The possibility of a combination of the
rapid manufacture of orthoses and patient comfort without
reducing the quality of the final products could bring the interest
of medical facilities to the ideas of the implementation of new
technologies such as 3D scanning of the human body, the
manufacturing of functional prototypes by RP methods or, in
the near future, Direct Digital Manufacturing.
In conclusion, it is necessary to answer the questions set in
the motivation. The costs of using digitization technologies
and additive manufacturing are, of course, relatively high.

3.2 Implementation
The implementation of this workflow in practice depends
primarily on the development of 3D printers, used building
materials and their properties, and overall costs. At present, this
procedure is not economically feasible in comparison
with standard manufacturing methods of similar orthosis
types (Table II). Time cost of the standard procedure depends
on whether it uses low-temperature plastic moldable on the
hand (1-3 hours), or high-temperature thermoplastic or
laminate (5-10 hours).
In the case of the production of custom-made WHO types
of orthoses (or similar types) in larger quantities, it would be
advantageous to automate some of the design phases using
macros by a modeler which allows their creation (e.g. the
software programs Rhinoceros, Rapidform, etc.).
Figure 8 Deviation between orthosis and hand scan

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Pilot study of the wrist orthosis design process

Rapid Prototyping Journal

David Palousek et al.

Volume 20 Number 1 2014 27 32

Table II Duration of whole process (first processing)

Faustini, M.C., Neptune, R.R., Crawford, R.H. and

Stanhope, S.J. (2008), Manufacture of passive dynamic
ankle-foot orthoses using selective laser sintering, IEEE
Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Vol. 55 No. 2,
pp. 784-790.
Herbert, N., Simpson, D., Spence, W.D. and Ion, W. (2005),
A preliminary investigation into the development of 3-D
printing of prosthetic sockets, Journal of Rehabilitation
Research and Development, Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 141-146.
Hieu, L.C., Zlatov, N., Sloten, J.V., Bohez, E., Khanh, L.,
Binh, P.H., Oris, P. and Toshev, Y. (2005), Medical rapid
prototyping applications and methods, Assembly
Automation, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 284-292.
Mavroidis, C., Ranky, R.G., Sivak, M.L., Patritti, B.L.,
DiPisa, J., Caddle, A., Gilhooly, K., Govoni, L., Sivak, S.,
Lancia, M., Drillio, R. and Bonato, P. (2011), Patient
specific ankle-foot orthoses using rapid prototyping,
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, Vol. 8, p. 11.
Milusheva,
S.M.,
Tosheva,
E.Y.,
Hieu,
L.C.,
Kouzmanov, L.V., Zlatov, N. and Toshev, Y.E. (2006),
Personalised ankle-foot orthoses design based on reverse
engineering, in Pham, D.T., Eldukhri, E.E. and
Soroka, A.J. (Eds), Intelligent Production Machines and
Systems, Elsevier, Oxford, pp. 253-257.
Paterson, A., Bibb, R.J. and Cambell, R.I. (2010), A review
of existing anatomical data capture methods to support the
mass customisation of wrist splints, Virtual and Physical
Prototyping, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 201-207.
Sansoni, G., Cavagnini, G., Docchio, F. and Gastaldi, G.
(2009), Virtual and physical prototyping by means of a
3D optical digitizer: application to facial prosthetic
reconstruction, Virtual and Physical Prototyping, Vol. 4
No. 4, pp. 217-226.
Schrank, E.S. and Stanhope, S.J. (2011), Dimensional
accuracy of ankle-foot orthoses constructed by rapid
customization and manufacturing framework, Journal of
Rehabilitation Research and Development, Vol. 48 No. 1,
pp. 31-42.
Toderan, D. and Lunsford, T. (1978), Tissue pressure
tolerance as a guide to wrist-hand orthosis design,
Orthotics and Prosthetics, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 37-43.
Toshev, Y.E., Hieu, L.C., Stefanova, L.P., Tosheva, E.Y.,
Zlatov, N.B. and Dimov, S. (2005), Reverse engineering
and rapid prototyping for new orthotic devices, Intelligent
Production Machines and Systems, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Wohlers, T.T. (2011), Annual Worldwide Progress Report,
Wohlers Report, Wohlers Associates Inc., Fort Collins, CO.

Time (h)
3D digitizing, post-processing
Polygonal data processing
Surface generating
CAD model creation (primary)
RP FDM part building
Surface finishing
Total

0.2
1
2
6
9.5
5
23.7

The process requires an investment in machinery as well as in

software. However, in practice the manufacturers of
prosthetic and orthotic devices have at least some of these
technologies or cooperate with institutes which are equipped
with these technologies. Of course, the cost of materials and
operation are not insignificant. However, market development
in additive manufacturing, as stated in Wohlers (2011)
Report, shows an increase in global sales of RP materials.
In the future, a gradual reduction in prices can be assumed.
The pilot study shows that digital technologies can be used for
the production of wrist orthosis, whereas the rehabilitation
benefits are mainly in the contactless data capture and also
contactless manufacturing (in comparison with the Aquaplast
method). In comparison with the classical manufacturing process,
the proposed procedure is complicated and requires knowledge of
CAD systems. In terms of time consumption, the proposed
process is longer, however the required time can be reduced by use
of faster RP production technologies and a minimization of part
surface finishing, which are not necessary in terms of functionality
(e.g. coloring). Also, the software processing time can be reduced
by the aforementioned software automation.
It is assumed that the procedure can be applied to limbs of
different sizes (different thicknesses of the orthoses can be used for
a childs and adults hand). It has not yet been tested and it gives
more opportunities to develop the topic. The resulting additively
manufactured orthosis compared well with the standard item and
was deemed fit for purpose by appropriate experts. Moreover, the
use of digital technologies for orthosis manufacturing opens up a
possibility of further functional and structural modifications that
cannot be implemented by standard technology (e.g. structureshaped shell, lightweight shell, integrated mounting, etc.).

References
Ahn, S.H., Montero, M., Odell, D., Roundy, S. and
Wright, P.K. (2002), Anisotropic material properties of
fused deposition modeling ABS, Rapid Prototyping Journal,
Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 248-257.
Chimento, J., Highsmith, M.J. and Crane, N. (2011), 3D
printed tooling for thermoforming of medical devices,
Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 17 No. 5, pp. 387-392.
Cook, D., Gervasi, V., Rizza, R., Kamara, S. and Liu, X.C.
(2010), Additive fabrication of custom pedorthoses for
clubfoot correction, Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 16
No. 3, pp. 189-193.

Further Reading
Jain, M.L., Govind Dhande, S. and Vyas, N.S. (2011),
Virtual modeling of an ankle foot orthosis for correction of
foot abnormality, Robotics and Computer-Integrated
Manufacturing, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 257-260.

Corresponding author
David Palousek can be contacted at: palousek@fme.vutbr.cz

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