The Echo prosthetic leg is specifically designed to improves a dog’s mobility and balance, giving them a second chance at life while reducing pressure on his body and
avoiding potential spinal issues. Model Solution (Milpitas, Calif.) assisted Shubham Harish, a student at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, in developing the design for the canine prosthetic leg.
Model Solution’s design team worked to verify the design for manufacturing and select more suitable materials and manufacturing processes for use during the prototyping phase. At the end of the process, Model Solution developed a high-quality appearance model of the Echo prosthetic leg that was showcased at the 2017 IDSA conference in Atlanta.
Form, fit and function is vital to determine whether a prosthetic would be successful for a specific canine, according to Model Solution. The Echo uses a ReMotion Knee joint that mimics the function of the dog’s knee by creating the necessary back and forth movement of the limb. A vacuum suction socket and one-way liner with multiple small magnetic points allows a tight and comfortable fit. The attraction between points when the dog stump is in the vicinity of the socket helps with the initial fit, and suction helps the stump go all the way in. Pelite, which is a lightweight material and soft-to-the-touch, was used for cushioning the socket while urethane was used for padding the one-way liner to reduce friction between the skin and socket.
The process for building the prototype model for the Echo dog prosthetic included structural design work, CNC machining, wet-sanding, plating, painting, screen printing and final assembly. The Echo was built from ABS plastic, pelite sponge foam, urethane, aluminum and brass.
