Motivation
Orthopedic aids, such as orthoses, prostheses and exoskeletons, help people with disabilities by stabilizing joints or supporting their movements. To ensure maximum effectiveness and comfort for patients, it is necessary to meet their specific requirements. However, conventional manual manufacturing methods often struggle to meet the high demands for customization in terms of patient-specific factors, variable stiffness, high strength and lightweight construction. In addition, the current produced parts often suffer from lack of manufacturing standardization, which leads to quality variations. In the AutoKOOP project, we aim to integrate digitalization into the production of prostheses, from patient requirements to finite element modeling and manufacturing, introducing automation of the entire process chain. With the help of advances in carbon fiber reinforcement and topology optimization, we will precisely control the strength and stiffness of the frame in additive manufacturing. This project promises technological innovations that will benefit both patients and healthcare professionals.

Acknowledgement
The chair thankfully acknowledges the funding for the project “AutoKOOP” provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the funding scheme KMU-innovativ: Medizintechnik (Funding Code: 13GW0735).