Tools for Making a Prosthetic Leg

Series Summary

An artificial limb is a kind of prosthesis that is used in place of a missing extremity, such as an arm or leg. The type of artificial limb used is determined primarily by the extent of an amputation or loss and location of a missing extremity. Artificial limbs may be needed for a variety of reasons, including disease, accidents, and congenital defects. In recent years, there have been significant advancements in the production of artificial limbs. New plastics and other materials, such as carbon fiber, have allowed artificial limbs to be stronger and lighter, thus reducing the amount of energy needed to use the limb. Additional materials have allowed artificial limbs to look much more realistic as well, which is important to transradial and transhumeral amputees because they are more likely to have an exposed artificial limb.

If you have a temporary socket for a prosthetic limb, you can fabricate a prosthetic leg with plaster, carbon fiber, and nylon. In this free video series, our expert will show you how to make a prosthetic leg with step-by-step instructions, from what tools you need, to pouring plaster, laying carbon fiber, lamination, and final assembly. You'll learn how to apply nylon layers, how to sand a prosthesis socket, how to mix lamination, and also how to seal a prosthetic cast. With the proper tools, techniques, and work ethic, these tips will make the construction of a prosthetic limb a less expensive process.

Video Transcript

"TONY KAPECHUK: Hi, my name is Tony. And on behalf of Expert Village, I'll be showing you how to turn this check socket into a laminated definitive prosthesis. We'll go over some of the tools we'll be using today. Most of them are pretty standard items. We've got your scissors here, razor blade, a couple sets of pliers, a couple of metric wrenches and the shuttle space we'll be using later in the process. Also we have a drill and that's about it. The first thing we've got to do today is we're going to mark these two screws that are in the furthest. This will maintain our alignment. If those are marked, we can go ahead and back those two out. We can go ahead and remove our cylindrical lock. These are all standard screws, four-millimeter. All right, we'll go ahead and we'll give our dummy here a test fit in the socket just to ensure a proper fit, like so. Now, we'll go ahead and we'll start taping up our socket so it can be filled with plaster."