(International conference "MODERN PERSPECTIVES FOR BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES: FROM BENCH TO BEDSIDE”; National Laboratory Astana, 2020) Otepbergenov, T.; Smagulov, Zh.; Kurokawa, S.; Ali, Md. Hazrat
The application of 3D printing in medicine is the major area to concern in the nearest future. Namely, it
is convenient to additively manufacture the Ankle-Foot Orthosis (AFO) by fused-deposition modeling 3D
printer. AFO is the device, used in medicine, to help the patients rehabilitate from the foot drop disease.
The shape of the AFO may vary depending on the leg and foot specifications of the patient. In this paper,
three models of the AFO were designed to analyze both numerically and experimentally, those are fracture
propagation, stress distribution, and deformation. The regions with the highest stress concentration
were altered with the Nylon 12, and this contributed to stress reduction. Three different gait instances
were considered for the numerical simulations FEA software. Then, the simplest model to prototype and
its modified versions were tested by the compression machine, and the results were compared with the
numerical ones. This work demonstrated the significance of the optimization of the multi-material 3D
printed AFO’s performance and comfort for patients.