Modular Below-Elbow Prosthetic Arm With Interchangeable Expansion Kits
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional children's prostheses do not account for the growth of amputated limbs or changing user needs in daily activities, leading to frequent replacements, environmental waste, and financial burdens on parents.
Innovation Solution
A below-elbow prosthetic arm assembly with an expansion kit that includes dining, paperweight, and sports components, allowing function expansion without removing the hand, featuring a modular design with interchangeable components such as a bowl chamber, block, and tilting sleeve, which can be customized and fitted to the existing hand, enabling adaptability for various activities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional children's prostheses are designed for specific growth stages, then the prosthesis fits the child's limb size at that stage, but the child must frequently replace prostheses as they grow, causing waste and financial burden
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthesis is divided into modular components: a universal base structure and interchangeable expansion kits. Each expansion kit contains activity-specific components (dining component with bowl chamber, sports component with tilting mechanism, writing component with block) that can be attached to the base hand, allowing one prosthesis to serve multiple functions across different growth stages and activities.
Solution Approach 2:
The base hand structure is designed with universal compatibility to accept various expansion kits. The hand includes a palm, fingers, shaft, and positioning disk that can accommodate different functional attachments, making a single prosthesis base usable throughout childhood with different activity-specific expansions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple customized prostheses are made for different activities, then each prosthesis is optimized for its specific function, but the cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the permanent base structure from the temporary activity-specific expansions. The base hand remains constant while expansion kits are added or removed based on current needs, simplifying the overall system while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
Expansion kits are designed to fit onto and integrate with the base hand structure. The dining component, sports component, and writing component all attach to the same hand base, creating a nested configuration where specialized components are contained within the universal base structure.
3Ease of operation
If traditional prostheses are designed without expansion capabilities, then the structure remains simple, but the prosthesis cannot adapt to changing user needs in daily lives, learning and sports
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthesis transitions from a static, single-function design to a dynamic, multi-function system. Expansion kits can be attached or removed based on current activities, allowing the prosthesis to adapt dynamically to changing needs in dining, sports, writing, and other activities throughout childhood.
Data Source
AI summary
A below-elbow prosthetic arm assembly includes a hand; an arm connected to the hand; a cylinder connected to the arm; and a string connected to the rear end of the cylinder. To start using the prosthetic arm, the user's amputated upper limb is enclosed by the cylinder and tied thereto with a string. The below-elbow prosthetic arm assembly further includes an expansion kit adapted to meet the user's needs in daily lives, learning and sports. The expansion kit is directly fitted to the hand. Function expansion is achieved without removing the hand. Therefore, the below-elbow prosthetic arm exhibits enhanced ease of use and minimizes the user's financial burdens which might otherwise arise from ordering customized prosthetic arms for use in different activities.