Giving A Hand: Designing Pro-bono Custom Prosthetic Devices for Pediatric Patients

Olga Tsuker

Michigan Neuroprosthetics strives to develop custom, low-cost myoelectric prosthetics devices for pediatric patients in the Ann Arbor area. Our team consists of three design departments- mechanical, electrical, and materials-, as well as an outreach chapter. Even though each of the departments independently work on their required tasks, the team makes a conscious effort to have weekly meetings where everyone can come together. These meetings are not only beneficial to boosting social moral, but they also act as checkpoints for every department to consistently meet their design goals. The aforementioned method has been proven to be a successful strategy as the team has generated numerous successful renditions of a prosthetics arm. This semester, we are working towards designing yet another arm for a young male patient to be able to participate in playtime with his peers and to utilize touch screen technology for his education. Soon, we hope to distribute our technical designs through open-source channels, as so aid as many potential patients as possible.

Library Mentor: Justin Schell