Validation of a roughness parameters for defining surface roughness of prosthetic polyethylene Pe-Lite liner

Nur Afiqah Hamzah,Nasrul Anuar Abd Razak,Siti Zuliana Salleh,Mohd Sayuti Ab Karim

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05173-3

Abstract

The Biosculptor's CNC milling machine, the Biomill, offered four different surfaces machined on positive models. This study aims to adopt the surface topography method in characterizing the four different surface roughness of polyethylene Pe-Lite liner as a product of the Biomill. Three surface parameters chosen were the arithmetic average (Ra), root mean square roughness (Rq), and ten-point height (Rz). The surface parameters were used to define the four different surfaces (STANDARD, FINE, COARSE, and FAST) and then compared with the same liner material from a conventionally fabricated socket. The Ra values of the conventional liner, 8.43 μm, were determined to be in-between the Ra values of STANDARD and FAST surfaces which were 8.33 μm and 8.58 μm respectively. STANDARD surface required 43.2 min to be carved while FAST surface took almost only a third of the time compared to STANDARD surface (conventional socket takes 2–3 days). The results of this study would be one of the guidelines to the prosthetists using the Biosculptor in socket fabrication to produce sockets according to the suitable surface to cater to different requirements and levels of activity of each amputee.

Highlights

The Biosculptor’s CNC milling machine, the Biomill, offered four different surfaces machined on positive models
Manufacturers are able to produce a predictable and consistent product and alter design faster in the CAD system without reprogramming the CAM machines[3]. Another benefit of the CAD/ CAM system is, it allows the creation of databases, each change made on the design can be stored digitally and used as r eferences[4,5]
A standard procedure would maximize the application of the CAD/ CAM system in socket fabrication while providing significant clinical results customized to each amputee

Summary

Introduction

The Biosculptor’s CNC milling machine, the Biomill, offered four different surfaces machined on positive models. This study aims to adopt the surface topography method in characterizing the four different surface roughness of polyethylene Pe-Lite liner as a product of the Biomill. The surface parameters were used to define the four different surfaces (STANDARD, FINE, COARSE, and FAST) and compared with the same liner material from a conventionally fabricated socket. This study is designed to identify the most suitable level of roughness offered by the Bioscupltor CAD/CAM system and comparable with the Pe-Lite liner used in traditional socket fabrication. This research adopted and validated the topographical method using the most common surface roughness parameters to identify four different surface roughness and their mechanical properties on Pe-Lite liners obtained by the Biosculptor CAD/CAM system

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion