Custom-cast prostheses
Jesse Crossen
Description
Collection
Title:
Custom-cast prostheses
Creator:
Jesse Crossen
Date:
1/24/2006
Text:
The response to my post about openprosthetics.org has been really
heartening; we've recieved many offers for collaboration and a lot of moral
support too. Now we have an idea that I want your opinions on. The idea is
to document a (relatively) rapid process for making custom prostheses that
works roughly as follows:
1. You download the CAD file of a basic device (e.g. a body-powered hook)
and the software to edit it.
2. You modify the CAD file to suit your needs.
3. You send the file to a rapid prototyping firm, and they ship you back a
plastic master pattern the next day.
4. You use the master pattern to make a silicone mold.
5. You cast a fiber-filled epoxy into the silicone mold to create your
custom parts.
We've been thinking of starting with something basic like the Hosmer Model
5X Hook so people can try out ideas like specialized fingers or different
mechanical arrangements. I can see two potential uses for a process like
this. One is that a prosthetist or technically inclined amputee with a
special need makes a device they couldn't get otherwise (like a hobbyist).
Another is that someone with a good idea makes devices in the back room of
his/her shop and sells them (like a cottage industry). To a hobbyist, the
labor involved isn't that big a deal because it's a personal project, but to
a cottage industrialist, production has to be cost-competive with other
products. My question is, do you see a need or desire for something like
this? If so, how cheap would it have to be to make it a viable cottage
industry? Would you be motivated to try it yourself?
Jesse Crossen
<URL Redacted>
<URL Redacted>
heartening; we've recieved many offers for collaboration and a lot of moral
support too. Now we have an idea that I want your opinions on. The idea is
to document a (relatively) rapid process for making custom prostheses that
works roughly as follows:
1. You download the CAD file of a basic device (e.g. a body-powered hook)
and the software to edit it.
2. You modify the CAD file to suit your needs.
3. You send the file to a rapid prototyping firm, and they ship you back a
plastic master pattern the next day.
4. You use the master pattern to make a silicone mold.
5. You cast a fiber-filled epoxy into the silicone mold to create your
custom parts.
We've been thinking of starting with something basic like the Hosmer Model
5X Hook so people can try out ideas like specialized fingers or different
mechanical arrangements. I can see two potential uses for a process like
this. One is that a prosthetist or technically inclined amputee with a
special need makes a device they couldn't get otherwise (like a hobbyist).
Another is that someone with a good idea makes devices in the back room of
his/her shop and sells them (like a cottage industry). To a hobbyist, the
labor involved isn't that big a deal because it's a personal project, but to
a cottage industrialist, production has to be cost-competive with other
products. My question is, do you see a need or desire for something like
this? If so, how cheap would it have to be to make it a viable cottage
industry? Would you be motivated to try it yourself?
Jesse Crossen
<URL Redacted>
<URL Redacted>
Citation
Jesse Crossen, “Custom-cast prostheses,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 1, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/225967.
