Description
- Abstract:
- According to the World Health Organization, there are 40 million amputees in developing countries. Of those, only 5% have access to a prosthetic device. The lack of prosthetic accessibility is mainly a two-fold problem: the high cost of the prosthetic device, and the accessibility to hospitals that do prosthetic fittings. Most amputees do not have the time nor money required for a prosthetic leg. The goal was to streamline the fitting process with an adjustable, universal socket and a low-cost prosthetic knee while being less than $60 for production. The socket was designed to be adjustable in the circumferential and vertical directions. The socket prototype met the design criteria for circumferential adjustability but did not fully meet the set design criteria for pressure distribution and stability requirements. Next steps will involve testing the durability of the prototype through cyclic testing and improving on the adjustability component of the design. The prosthetic knee was designed to closely mimic natural gait using mechanical components. A four-bar linkage system was optimized through computer-aided design simulations to determine the kinematics. For design verification, the knee prototypes’ positions were analyzed at initial swing and heel strike; prototypes were 3D-printed and tested using an able-bodied testing rig used to compare various prosthetic knee kinematics. Gait videos created of subjects using the rig were used to verify the torque experienced by the prosthetic knee during gait. This project demonstrated possible low-cost, sustainable prosthetic solutions for developing countries.
- Notes:
- Thesis (Sc. M.)--Brown University, 2019
Access Conditions
- Rights
- In Copyright
- Restrictions on Use
- Collection is open for research.
Citation
Lee, Justin,
"Low Cost Lower-Limb Prostheses For Amputees in Southeast Asia"
(2019).
Biomedical Engineering Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.26300/zcm8-c640
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Biomedical Engineering Theses and Dissertations
Theses and Dissertations for the Biomedical Engineering department....