Customized Orthosis Design Based on Surface Reconstruction from 3D-Scanned Points

Abstract

Limb disability is a frequent healthcare problem, especially for patients in primary care. Orthotic treatment has become the most common practice for either rehabilitation or permanent assistance, due to the emergence of 3D scanning and 3D printing technologies. A CAD model rebuilt from captured data is a key step in the rapid prototyping process of customized orthoses. An accurate and robust surface reconstruction technique remains a research challenge, aiming for a well-fitting design and the patient’s comfort. Thus, this paper presents of a new 3D curve-based reconstruction algorithm to obtain a precise 3D surface of an orthotic device from a scanned body part. Numerical experiments of two orthosis design case studies are shown to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of the proposed approach compared to other reconstruction methods.

Keywords

• 3D reconstruction
• 3D scanning
• reverse engineering
• orthosis modelling
• surface reconstruction