Design and Fitting Performance of a 3D-Printed Personalized Upper-Limb Socket: A Comparative Case Report

The prosthetic socket is the essential interface between the residual limb and the prosthesis. However, traditional upper-limb sockets are highly sensitive to residual-limb volume fluctuations and rely on experience-dependent manual fabrication processes. Additive manufacturing and 3D scanning technologies offer the possibility of producing personalized sockets, potentially improving accessibility, repeatability, and cost-effectiveness. Despite this potential, there is still a lack of systematic experimental validation directly comparing the fitting performance of personalized 3D-printed sockets with that of conventionally manufactured sockets. This study presents the design, fabrication, and comparative validation of a personalized 3D-printed upper-limb socket and a traditionally manufactured socket produced for the same user. The 3D-printed socket was developed from a 3D scanning of a clinically rectified plaster mold, computer-aided design, and material extrusion by thermal reaction bonding. A comparative validation framework evaluated both sockets under equivalent conditions, including mechanical testing, thermal behavior assessment, and sensorized fitting measurements. The results provide quantitative evidence on how a personalized 3D-printed socket performs relative to a traditional socket in terms of structural behavior, thermal patterns, and interface-related fitting parameters. This work contributes objective data supporting 3D-printed personalized sockets as a technically feasible and promising alternative to conventional methods.