Hinge-Integrated Prosthetic Finger for Custom Fit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prosthetic options for missing fingertips are limited by access and cost, particularly for individuals who have lost the distal phalanx or both the distal and middle phalanges, hindering fine motor skills and everyday functions like pinching and typing.
Innovation Solution
A custom-designed prosthetic system using digital scanning and AI to create a 3D-printed prosthetic with a hinge mechanism, allowing for adjustable fit and manufacturing directly to the patient, reducing costs while maintaining functionality, including a base piece and tip piece connected by a hinge for fingers missing the distal phalanx and additional components for those missing the middle phalanx.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional prosthetics are used, then function is maintained, but cost and access are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses digital scanning to create a virtual copy of the patient's hand anatomy, which is then used to generate a customized prosthetic design. This digital copying approach eliminates the need for physical measurements and in-person consultations, reducing costs and improving access while maintaining functional reliability through precise anatomical replication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical measurement and fitting processes with digital scanning and AI-based dimension calculation systems. The mechanical process of physical measurement and manual customization is substituted with optical scanning and automated digital modeling, significantly reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining precision.
2Adaptability or versatility
If digital scanning and AI measurement are used, then customization and accessibility are improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary object of known size as a reference marker during the digital scanning process. This intermediary serves as a calibration standard that bridges the gap between the digital image capture and the actual anatomical dimensions, enabling accurate measurement and customization without requiring in-person physical measurements or specialized equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses AI-based dimension calculation systems that transform 2D digital images into accurate 3D dimensional data by applying mathematical parameter transformations. The system calculates real-world dimensions from scanned images through computational geometry, maintaining manufacturing precision while enabling remote customization.
3Ease of operation
If a hinge mechanism is added to the prosthetic, then fine motor skills are enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the hinge mechanism directly into the digital model generated from the scanned hand anatomy, merging the joint functionality with the structural components. The hinge is incorporated as an integral part of the prosthetic design rather than as a separate assembly, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining the ability to perform fine motor tasks through natural finger motion replication.
Data Source
AI summary
A prosthetic finger device includes a base piece configured to fit on a proximal phalanx portion of the amputated finger, and a tip piece configured to fit on a middle phalanx portion of the amputated finger, wherein the tip piece is pivotally connected to the base piece by a hinge that is integrally formed with the tip piece and the base piece.