Q :

 How are procedures of making an artificial leg ?

A :

A good artificial leg is an artificial leg that is comfortable to wear and it can walk as a
natural gait. In order to be a good artificial leg, it must have a socket that can be fixed 
very well with every part of the stump. It should also have the part that supports the
weight of the body and passes the weight on to the shank, artificial foot and ground.
The socket must not press on the bones of the stump. Moreover, the socket and the 
artificial foot must be in line with the body of the disabled person, so that he can walk
naturally like a normal person. The steps of making an artificial leg are:
    1).Making the socket. In order to have a socket that has the right form and size the 
same as the stump, a mold of the stump should be made first. It can be made by using 
plaster for cast wraps around the stump. When the plaster dries out, take it out of 
the stump. You will now have the socket made of plaster, which is called a negative  
mold. Then mix another mixture of plaster with water and pour it into the negative 
mold. When the plaster mixture is dried, take the plaster mold out. You will now have
the plaster mold called positive mold that has the same form like the stump leg. 
This positive mold will be used as a mold for making a plastic socket, which will be used
with the shank and the artificial foot. It is necessary to smooth the surface of the 
positive mold before using it as a mold for plastic socket. This will make the plastic
socket enable to support the weight of the body and Do not press to the bones
of the stump. When the plastic socket of the mold is hard enough, remove the plaster
out of the plastic socket. You will get the plastic socket that has the form and size
like the stump. This socket can support weight of the body.
    2).Take the plastic socket to assemble with the parts of the artificial leg that are the 
shank and the artificial foot to bench alignment.
   3).Let the disabled person wear the artificial leg and try to walk. Make sure that when 
the disabled  walk, the weight of his body does not hurt the stump of the leg. If there is 
pain that is caused by the pressure of the socket on the stump while walking, changes 
should be done on the socket. If the disabled has no pain while using the socket, let the 
disabled walk in order to adjust the line  between the socket and the artificial foot 
according to the Bio mechanics rules. The disabled person will be able to walk naturally
like anyone else.  
   4).When the disabled can walk well enough, take the artificial let to make it look more 
like normal leg, if he leg has been amputated above the knee. The disabled who has his 
leg amputated at his thigh so his knees have been cut off, an artificial knee should be 
installed between the socket and the artificial leg. Make sure that there is the line of 
bench alignment between the socket, the artificial knee, and the artificial leg so that the 
disabled will not fall down easily.
           You can see that in making artificial legs for the disabled, you need to have the
knowledge in Anatomy, Physiology, Mechanics, Bio mechanics and material sciences in
order to make artificial legs that are good and suitable for the disabled. Bad artificial legs
or not properly made artificial legs will cause damage to the disabled in the long run.