e-NABLE's Raptor Reloaded hand
Socket prototype, on a model 3D printed from a scan of Rajeh's hand
Prosthesis for Partial-Hand Amputees
As a part of MIT's D-Lab Prosthetics for the Developing World Class, I worked on a team of five to design a flexible socket to attach a prosthesis for partial-hand amputees. We partnered with Refugee Openware to develop a solution for Rajeh, a young Syrian refugee living in Jordan who was missing part of each of his fingers. Prostheses for partial-hand amputees are incredibly different to design, as the remaining fingers are often too small to provide sufficient torque for a prosthetic finger, without the finger slipping off.
We designed and 3D printed a flexible socket, ridged on the inside, to place between the remaining finger and the prosthetic attachment. The flexibility allowed for a tighter fit, and the ridges prevented the prosthesis from slipping off as the hand formed a fist. In testing, we used a Raptor Reloaded hand as the prosthesis, a product developed by e-NABLE, an open-source website that allows users to customize and 3D print their own prosthesis. The Raptor Reloaded is wrist-powered, allowing a user with little remaining finger to maximize power output, and it can be easily customized and printed on Refugee Openware's machine in Jordan, allowing this solution to be applied beyond Rajeh's case.
We presented a poster and paper with our findings to the D-Lab faculty, received and encorporated feedback, and sent two team members to Jordan over January term to fit the socket and prosthesis to Rajeh.
Group Project: Team Member
Fall 2015