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[Product] Prosthetic Arms - Sierra Leone War Victims

Industrial Design, UI/UX, Product Design

[ Placed 9th out of 39 in Georgia Institute of Technology Mechanical Engineering Expo (2010) ]
[ Special thanks to Drs. Rob Kistenberg, Peter Carnell, Sabir Khan, and Jonathan Colton! ]
[ Team members: Danielle McCurdy, Matt Melnyczyk, and John Rosensweig. ]
Prosthetic Arms for Sierra Leone (2010)
Challenge: Develop prostheses that may be manufactured and maintained in Sierra Leone.
The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991 - 2002) heralded over a decade of maiming and systematic village-wide amputation in one of the world's poorest strife-ridden countries, engendering tens of thousands of casualties.

There is no official count of the number of amputees; estimates average around 20,000, with at least a quarter of those being arm amputees. Recuperative programs and prostheses are virtually nonexistent.
Deemed "half-persons," amputees are denied jobs, public benefits, and respect since they are believed to be incapable of contributing to national welfare in this majorly agrarian and mercantile country. Unable to provide for their families, they have ostracized themselves and live in shoddy camps on territorial outskirts.

Constant high humidity and heat (26ºC - 36ºC) besiege Sierra Leone, cloaked in impenetrable rain forests. Rampant poverty, strife, and unemployment burden this 'least-developed nation.'
To enable a better quality of life - a hand prosthesis for Sierra Leoneans with unilateral wrist disarticulation* that emulates limb function with a harness that may be independently worn and adjusted by the amputee.

*Amputation severance occurring at the wrist on one arm.
+ [ NOT SHOWN ]
Supervisors whose workers appear in front of cameras command that employees put their clothes back on and removed child workers; workers labor garment-less to prevent pocketing of diamonds and other minerals.
( Illustrations and graphic design featured in this project are by me. )
+ [ HARNESS - DESIGN DIRECTION ]
Using ergonomic design and manufacturing optimization, we made the harness respectful of gender anatomical differences (allotting for comfort of all body parts,) to be discreet (may be hidden under clothing,) unisex (for easiest manufacturing,) and easily adjustable by the amputee*.
+ [ DRESSING UP ]
[ Independent ] - vest is pulled over head and can be fastened and adjusted using one hand
[ Non-stigmatic ] - vest is worn underneath clothing
[ Dirt-be-gone ] - Vest detaches from wrist / terminal device for washing
*Appropriate fasteners were referenced from N. Pruthi's study - "Problems Encountered While Dressing and Undressing by Persons with Upper Amputated Limb."
+ [ FOREARM - DESIGN DIRECTION ]
Locally-reclaimed* aluminum will be used as very little energy is required to recycle it into workable beams.

*According to the Prostheses Foundation of Thailand, 5,000 soda can pull tabs (totaling half a pound of aluminum) may craft one child's prosthetic leg. Used aluminum may be sourced from Freetown, Sierra Leone.
+ [ TERMINAL DEVICE - DESIGN DIRECTION ]
The prosthetic appendage emulates basic aesthetics and range of functions of a human hand, drawing to a compromise our spectrum of passive and functional prostheses.
( Please see below lists for supplements to the above user photographs and Carroll test modifications. )
+ [ ORIGINAL CARROLL OBSERVATIONAL TEST * ]
- Grasp - manipulate block
- Grip - manipulate pipe
- Lateral prehension - 1" x 1/2" x 4" block
- Pinch - marble
- Placing - washer over nail
- Supination and pronation - pour liquid
- Writing - sign name
- [ 12 more tasks measure digit dependent prehension ]
+ [ MODIFIED TEST FOR SIERRA LEONE ]
- [ Removed 13 unusable tasks from original test ]
- Pick up wire handle / 1" plastic handle
- Change burners with a pot
- Put lid on pot
- Guide shovel into ground
- Empty shovel into container
- Rake piles of leaves
- Stack bricks
- Push wheelbarrow
- Turn wheelbarrow
- Seed ground / weed gardens
*Comprised of daily tasks; measures prosthesis functionality.
*New Hands was the previous college semester's group who created a modular hand prosthesis.