3D printing can enhance the efficiency of fabricating prosthetic sockets and liners, but the costs to use the technology remain stubbornly high. And despite the introduction of L-codes for reimbursement, insurance coverage can be elusive.

Dig deeper: Joe Johnson, CEO of Quorum Prosthetics, says his company can produce sockets overnight using 3D printing that would otherwise take a technician 12 to 15 hours to manufacture. The technology comes with a hefty price tag, though: nearly $1 million for an HP 3D printer, plus software subscriptions and an A/C unit for humidity control.

Who's benefiting: Prosthetist Jeff Erenstone, founder of Operation Namaste, thinks that 3D printing has been life-changing for people in lower-resourced countries and in war zones. For example, Operation Namaste is creating standardized molds to make silicone liners that can be printed anywhere in the world.

"3D printing has value in low-income countries because accessibility is so much harder. I have not seen it [have as much value] in the urban areas where there is adequate prosthetic care," Erenstone said.

Researchers have developed the BeneFit socket, an adjustable, temporary upper-limb prosthetic socket with a hard outer shell and a soft inner cushioning layer that is designed to facilitate early fitting after limb loss. The prototype received "quite satisfactory" feedback from users and experts and scored particularly well for breathability and ease of donning and doffing.

The evolution of lower-limb orthotics is being driven by adjustable customized ankle joints such as the Neuro Swing, Triple Action and Nexgear Tango, which align mechanical support with patients' dynamic needs, writes certified prosthetist-orthotist Santiago Muñoz. These innovations move beyond traditional static designs, offering features like interchangeable resistance forces and range-of-motion control. Integrating gait-related posture into the casting process can enhance orthotic effectiveness, but the lack of specific reimbursement codes limits patient access.

A study in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering introduces a fiber-driven finite element model to predict soft tissue deformation in the residual limb. The model aims to enhance prosthetic socket design by simulating tissue changes during daily activities, achieving prediction errors below 2%, with researchers noting that the model is "valuable tool for pre-design simulations of prosthetic sockets and orthoses."

OrthoPro in Idaho is dedicated to enhancing community wellness by offering custom prosthetics and mastectomy products. As one of two mastectomy fitters in the state, Christine Miller is dedicated to informing and assisting women in finding suitable products, while Rod Miller is passionate about providing prostheses for veterans, following in his father's footsteps. "We watch [patients] go from dragging their foot when they come in to looking around as they walk out because they no longer have to stare at the ground and worry about walking on it," Rod Miller says.