A Product Design Approach to Prosthetic Design: A Case Study

Evidence of prosthetic use can be dated back to the second Punic War [1]. However, state-of-the-art devices have advanced very little, especially for individuals who need forearm and hand functionality, and have little financial support for high-end, custom robotic devices. This is particularly the case for military veterans. The prosthetics prescribed are thermally hot, heavy in weight, fit poorly, restrict mobility and are unattractive. This paper will review how the aforementioned design challenge was addressed through 3D body scanning and rapid prototyping technologies, for an undergraduate product design student’s capstone project.