Digital healthcare technologies: Modern tools to transform prosthetic care

Area of Science:

• Prosthetic Care
• Digital Health Technologies
• Rehabilitative Healthcare

Background:

• Millions globally lack access to prosthetic rehabilitative care.
• Digital healthcare technologies present a solution to enhance prosthetist efficiency.
• These technologies can augment the reach of prosthetic services.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce digital technologies impacting prosthetic clinical methods.
• Target researchers new to prostheses and recent technological advancements.
• Provide an overview of digital tools for prosthetic healthcare.

Main Methods:

• Review of digital technologies for prosthetic care.
• Focus on limb scanning, socket rectification, and additive manufacturing.
• Inclusion of methods for quantifying patient response to sockets.

Main Results:

• Digital technologies enable large-scale, affordable prosthesis production.
• Computational methods and CAD/CAM are rapidly advancing.
• Technological gaps for digital mass production are being addressed.

Conclusions:

• Digital prosthetic care promises increased mobility and economic opportunities globally.
• Overcoming technological gaps is crucial for mass digital production.
• Recent advances accelerate the integration of digital solutions in prosthetics.