Friday, May 1, 2015

Affordable Prosthetics for Developing Countries

            Research growing recently to create affordable prosthetics of something the majority of us take for granted: our hands. The Slade lab, stemming from the University of Illinois, has created a prosthetic hand by the name of Tact which is both functional and affordable. With the needs of underdeveloped countries in mind, the team chose to create Tact using parts from a 3-D printer. This created a much cheaper and lighter version of the prosthetic which goes for about $250 whereas most competitors range from $25,000-$100,000. Though much cheaper than big-name prosthetic companies, Tact outperforms or performs just as well. The team made sure the hand was lighter than 420-615g range of the most expensive prosthetics (it weighs about 350g), relieving the amputees of the fatigue and eventual pain they feel from wearing a prosthetic. Tact also performed just as well picking up everyday objects such as a water bottle but showed some difficulty in fine tasks such as picking up a battery. When the team applied adhesives or liquid rubber, it performed as well as the other prosthetics. Tact also reduces interference when grasping objects by being 34-46% thinner than other prosthetics.
            A Canadian professor at the University of Toronto, Matt Ratto, is developing similar technology with a focus on leg amputees in Uganda. According the Washington Post, Ratto says that there is a major lack of prosthetic technicians in comparison to how many people are in need of prosthetics. In an attempt to combat this problem, Ratto and his team are developing prosthetic legs which work 80% as well as custom-made prosthetics from technicians. The lab has utilized Microsoft Kinect and other scanning software to analyze how to shape the leg and sockets. Right now the team has focused on creating sockets for people to put in between the prosthetic leg and knee or foot.
            Both labs are very much in touch with what developing countries are in need of and have done their best to accommodate. Though these prosthetics may not fit as well as completely customized, handmade ones, it is a cheap and just as efficient alternative. Allowing for more people to have prosthetic limbs will also allow for people to live a greater quality of life. These labs will eventually allow for everyone in need of a prosthetic to receive one, making a difference worldwide in millions of people’s lives.

References
McFarland, Matt. “Using 3-D printing to address the need for prosthetics in Uganda.” The Washington Post, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 1 May 2015. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/01/17/using-3-d-printing-to-address-the-need-for-prosthetics-in-uganda/

Slade, P., A. Akhtar, M. Nguyen, T. Bretl. (2015). Tact: Design and performance of an open-source, affordable, myoelectric prosthetic hand. The International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Seattle, WA. https://luc.app.box.com/s/4c031c26bsh2bj3619si/1/2926647381/27826615704/1

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