title: Below knee prosthetic socket designs and suspension systems.
abstract: The prosthetic socket must act as a customized connection between the residual limb's surrounding tissues and the prosthetic components. The socket must be designed to control weight bearing, suspension, and ambulation stability. When making a below-the-knee socket, the prosthetist attempts to maximize loading and minimize displacements, such as vertical, transverse, or rotational. This article discusses the engineering designs or shapes of the two basic forms of below-the-knee prosthetic sockets used today.
authors.affiliation: Prosthetics Orthotics Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA. mle@nwu.edu
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D001186:Artificial Limbs / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000145:classification / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D007717:Knee; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012399:Rotation; D016474:Weight-Bearing