ADAPT Prosthetics
Dismantling the Socioeconomic Hurdles
in Prosthetic Access
A Social Stigma
In the United States, being poor and being able to pay for prosthetics are two incompatible traits for disabled citizens who are missing a limb. Even with basic health insurance, prosthetics are still sold at exorbitant prices, amounting to thousands of dollars for even the most shoddy designs. As a result, within the disabled community, there is an unfortunate social stigma surrounding the availability of disabled patients to afford the most aesthetic and comfortable prosthetic models.
even the most basic of prosthetics, such as the one above, can cost up to 5000 dollars
Partnering With the Philadelphia Community
With the knowledge of this social issue in regards to access to prosthetics, we at UPenn ADAPT (Assistive Devices and Prosthetic Technologies) reached out to Aaron Holland, a disabled patient in the Philadelphia community. Disabled after a motorcycle accident, Aaron has was inspired to use his wealth and influence as a worker in the finance sector to improve the wellbeing of the Philadelphia community and remove the social stigma regarding different prosthetics. As a result, we wanted to assist him in his endeavors to design a prosthetic that could assist the disabled community without being incredibly expensive or unattractive.
Inspiration and Design
To capture ideas of what we wanted our product to look like and include, we searched up a few of the leading designs in the prosthetics field; and we observed what we thought were the biggest strengths and flaws of each design to guide our prosthetic. Consequently, we came up with a few considerations for our model:
Aesthetically pleasing
Low cost
Scaleable for different users
Matches anatomy of user
Personalizeable
Easy to use and remove
We utilized a CAD (computer aided design) software called Solidworks to create our prototype. Despite none of our team knowing how to use the software, we were able to learn the in and outs of the program and utilize it to its full potential. We researched anatomical information on the curvature of calves in humans to assist in the aesthetic aspects of our model, which is pictured below.
the CAD prototype for our Prosthetic model
The CAD uses different planes to create surfaces for the prosthetic, and the curvature of the leg can be altered as needed to achieve maximum realistic value. The design can also be scaled by a factor to account for users’ different body types.
Materials, Cost, and Prototype
For materials, we selected Acrylonite Butadiene Styrene (ABS). ABS is incredibly sturdy with a large tensile strength, and can come in many different colors, which is convenient for user customization. Also, ABS is incredibly easy to use as a 3D printing material, as its filaments can be heated to a liquid state and extruded on a surface to form a 3D object.
The printed prototype of our two piece design
spools of Acrylonite butadiene styrene (ABS)
Originally, to print our design as one piece, the cost would have been approximately $150. Although this was a significant decrease as compared to the normal thousands of dollars, we believed that we could push the price lower. By splitting the design into two parts, we lowered the price by 83% to get a cost of $25. By printing two parts, we could also ensure that the piece would be able to support itself throughout the printing process.
Future Plans
For our future plans, we split them into two groups: priority tasks and long term goals.
priority tasks
Utilize magnets to attach the two pieces
Fine tune the scaling feature to ensure the aesthetic features are maintained
Create an array of patterns that can be easily implemented for customization
Long term
Develop an affordable, repeatable, and accessible way of printing covers
Strategize a distribution and marketing plan for users
Create a process for customer consultation, fitting, and ordering