Development of knitted fabric reinforced composite material for prosthetic application

Abstract

This Letter reports the development of a knitted fabric composite material using Kevlar 49 fibres and ultraviolet (UV) curable resin for a biomedical device, prosthetic socket application. Material fabrication and mechanical characterisation are described. The mechanical properties of this new material are comparable with those of a currently used indirect socket material. Compared with other available direct sockets, this new material is capable of better conforming to patient's stump and has longer gel time for manual operations involved.