Prosthetic limb

Abstract

A prosthetic limb has an outer surface that is a mirror image of an intact limb or a generic limb design. The intact limb is scanned and the surface data is manipulated to create a virtual mirror image. If generic data is used, the intact leg can be measured and the generic surface can be adjusted so the prosthetic limb appears similar to the intact limb. The end of the amputated limb is also measured to obtain socket data. A knee and foot are incorporated to form a virtual prosthetic limb represented by design data. The design data for the virtual prosthetic limb is forwarded to a rapid prototyping machine that fabricates the entire leg simultaneously. Once completed, the prosthetic limb is shipped to the patient.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A prosthetic leg comprising:
 an upper leg coupled to a socket;   a lower leg having a front member and a rear member, wherein the front member is substantially rigid and the rear member does not extend forward of the front member and compressive loads for supporting a user of the prosthetic leg are partially distributed to the rear member;   a knee that is coupled to a lower end of the upper leg and an upper ends of the front member and the rear member that allows the lower leg to rotate relative to the upper leg; and   a foot that is coupled to a lower end of the lower leg.   
     
     
         2 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein the upper leg, comprises a series of planar layers that are substantially parallel to a length of the upper leg. 
     
     
         3 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein the lower leg comprises a series of planar layers that are substantially parallel to a length of the lower leg. 
     
     
         4 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein the knee comprises a series of planar layers that are substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the knee. 
     
     
         5 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein the knee comprises a plurality of rotatable linkages. 
     
     
         6 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 4  wherein the surface data of the generic leg is modified to match some measurements of an intact leg of the user. 
     
     
         7 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein the foot includes a front portion and a main portion that are coupled by an elastic member that allows the front portion to rotate relative to the main portion. 
     
     
         8 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein the lower leg rotates relative to the foot and a sliding surface of the foot slides against a lower portion of the front member causing the rear member to be elastically deflected. 
     
     
         9 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 8  wherein the lower leg rotates forward towards a front portion of the foot, a distance between the heal portion and the knee is increased stretching the rear member and causing a bow of the rear member to flattened. 
     
     
         10 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 8  wherein the lower leg rotates back towards the heal portion of the foot, a distance between the heel portion and the knee is reduced compressing the rear member and causing a bow of the rear member to increase. 
     
     
         11 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 8  wherein the lower leg rotates sideways about a center axis of the foot, causing the heel section of the foot to deflect the rear member sideways. 
     
     
         12 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein the rear member comprises a spring mechanism having a predetermined spring rate. 
     
     
         13 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 12  wherein the predetermined spring rate is proportional to the weight of the user. 
     
     
         14 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein a lower end of the front member includes a concave spherical surface that slides against a convex spherical surface coupled to the foot so that the foot may rotate relative to the lower leg. 
     
     
         15 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a convex spherical surface that is coupled to the first end of the beam, a second end of the beam is coupled to the heel section of the foot and a downward force applied to the convex spherical surface causes the beam to elastically bend. 
 
     
     
         16 . A prosthetic leg comprising:
 an upper leg coupled to a socket;   a lower leg having a front member and a rear member, wherein the front member is substantially rigid and the rear member does not extend forward of the front member;   a knee that is coupled to a lower end of the upper leg and an upper ends of the front member and the rear member that allows the lower leg to rotate relative to the upper leg; and   a foot that is coupled to a lower end of the lower leg.   
     
     
         17 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein the upper leg, comprises a series of planar layers that are substantially parallel to a length of the upper leg. 
     
     
         18 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein the lower leg comprises a series of planar layers that are substantially parallel to a length of the lower leg. 
     
     
         19 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein the knee comprises a series of planar layers that are substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the knee. 
     
     
         20 . The prosthetic leg of  claim 1  wherein the rear member comprises a spring mechanism having a predetermined spring rate that is proportional to the weight of the user.