Group 5 – Project Nuada

Team Members

Stephen Conn, Talon Coons, Thomas Eggers, Pierre Exantus, Ollie Montgomery, Mihir Rao, Madeline Stophel

Abstract

The development of our design focused on a low-cost prosthetic arm designed for underserved communities. The average cost of a quality prosthetic is between 20 and 80 thousand dollars. Many countries’ average incomes are well below that, with third world countries having an average yearly income of $1,088 or less. Our concept was anchored in creating prosthesis that are easy to repair, making it easier for users in lower income communities to perform maintenance on their hand. Nearly all of the prosthetic arm was 3D printed, allowing the user to obtain a more cost-effective prosthesis rather than spending thousands of dollars that they may not possess to obtain a needed prosthetic. All of the fingers, besides the thumb, possess the same dimensions, which allows the user to easily replace any of the fingers if needed. The user can replace the fingers for the same cost whether the index, middle, ring, or pinkie fingers become damaged. Due to the simplicity of the cable system that operates the finger actuation, uninstalling and installing a finger takes less than five minutes for the user. The arm section is also 3D printed, ensuring that the protective casing that holds the motors and batteries can also be replaced quickly and at little cost to the user. Our current design aims to meet the everyday needs of our clients, but the simple modularity of the design allows for easy expansion in products for users looking for more single-task oriented prosthesis.

Pitch Video

3D Interactive Product Model

The following is an interactive 3D model of the product design. You can view and rotate the product assembly in different orientations and views, including an exploded view to see the various parts that make up the assembly.