Helping Hands

Background
     This student-led project is a partnership with the LN4 Hand Project. The LN4 is a non-profit organization that aims to provide free prosthetic hands to anyone in need- anywhere in the world. They have already delivered over 5000 of their prosthetic devices to below-the-elbow amputees, mainly in India and Cambodia. There remains an estimated 145,000 eligible patients globally, waiting to receive a helping hand.

     Since the prosthetic hands for sale on the market today are prohibitively expensive, LN4 designs and manufactures its own devices. They are now in the process of making their next generation hand which will go on to improve the lives of many around the world. In concert with their efforts, our task is to prototype a mounting mechanism by which the prosthetic hand can be securely fastened to the residual limb. 

Goal and Objectives
     The primary goal of this project is to improve upon the mount with which the prosthetic hand is attached. If feasible, we would also like to renovate the hand-clutching mechanism. Our finalized product will be stable, durable, and manufacturable in high volumes. Additionally, we will strive to incorporate aspects such as modularity and aesthetics. To achieve these objectives, we will accurately model a residual limb and research methods for testing and quantifying stress and friction that the user may experience. We will integrate our findings into the potential designs while also ensuring that we remain within the established budget. 

Team Contacts
Douglas Dahm, ddahm@uci.edu 
Conner Dahm, dahmc@uci.edu 
James Wateska, jwateska@uci.edu 
Ahmed Kunbargi, kunbarga@uci.edu 
Musab Al Kindy, malkindy@uci.edu 
Dominic Nguyen, domincn1@uci.edu

Advisor
Dr. Reinkensmeyer, dreinken@uci.edu