Artificial Digit Replacements for Women Veterans with Individual Digit Loss

该项目的目标是设计和开发一种纯机械的棘轮式假肢手指， 女性手指-1）可以使用先进的金属3D打印技术为第五百分位女性的手调整尺寸 技术，2）具有行业领先的强度重量比，以及3）可以单方面使用（一个- 手）使用新颖的棘轮机构。 最大的上肢截肢者是那些部分手截肢的人。该人群 比其他级别的上肢截肢者多10倍。因此，显著的临床影响可以 如果一种产品能有效地服务于这一人群，然而，目前的商业产品， 截肢者不能满足女性患者的所有需求;没有商业上可获得的假指 适合各种女性手部尺寸。实际上，某些女性退伍军人与部分手 截肢是无法治愈的 该提案是对VA RR&D提案请求（RFP）的回应，旨在制定女性退伍军人特定的 假体部件拟议的研究计划包括：1）设计和开发妇女 数字-棘轮机械假肢手指，2）制造不同长度的多个原型， 3)机械测试，以确认可扩展性，强度，可靠性和可制造性，以及4）实验室内 测试会议与女性部分手截肢者。 上肢截肢的退伍军人的护理需要高度个性化的医学方法。每个 退伍军人给诊所带来了独特的需求，包括各种程度的截肢，生活方式，个人经历， 和其他医学指标。修复师和职业治疗师与每位退伍军人合作， 个性化的医疗解决方案，使用任何组件和技术，可在公开市场上。 通常，该系统的瓶颈是临床上合理的假体部件的开发， 容易由假肢专家获得，以提供最佳的假肢系统。 VA生物机械电子学开发实验室的使命是创新设备和算法， 上肢假肢设计领域。生物机电一体化开发实验室开发的产品， 为修复师和退伍军人提供解决方案，以满足每个退伍军人在这一动态和 具有挑战性的医疗环境。妇女数字将为妇女提供有效和持久的解决方案， 为部分手部截肢的退伍军人提供服务，确保他们能够充分享受工作、家庭和生活。

The goal of the proposed project is to design and develop a purely mechanical, ratcheting prosthetic finger – the Women’s Digit – which 1) can be sized for a 5th percentile female hand using advanced metal 3D printing technology, 2) has an industry leading strength to weight ratio, and 3) can be operated using unilaterally (one- handed) using a novel ratcheting mechanism. The largest population of upper limb amputees are those with partial hand amputations. This population outnumbers all other levels of upper limb amputees by a factor of 10. Therefore, a significant clinical impact can be made if a product serves this population effectively. However, current commercial products for partial hand amputees do not satisfy all of the needs of female patients; no commercially available prosthetic finger is appropriately sized for the full range of female hand sizes. Effectively, certain women veterans with partial hand amputation are untreatable. This proposal is in response to the VA RR&D Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop female veteran specific prosthetic components. The proposed research plan includes 1) the design and development of the Women’s Digit – a ratcheting mechanical prosthetic finger, 2) the manufacturing of multiple prototypes at various lengths, 3) mechanical testing to confirm scalability, strength, reliability, and manufacturability, and 4) an in-laboratory testing session with a female partial hand amputee. The care of Veterans with upper limb amputation requires a highly individualized approach to medicine. Each Veteran brings unique needs to the clinic including various levels of amputation, lifestyles, personal experience, and other medical indicators. Prosthetists and occupational therapists work with each Veteran to provide a personalized medical solution using whatever component and technologies are available on the open market. Very often, the bottleneck in this system is the development of clinically sound prosthetic components that can be readily sourced by the prosthetists to provide an optimal prosthetic limb system. The mission of the VA Biomechatronics Development Laboratory is to innovate devices and algorithms in the field of upper limb prosthetic design. The Biomechatronics Development Laboratory develops products that provide prosthetists and Veterans with solutions to meet the unique needs of each Veteran in this dynamic and challenging healthcare setting. The Women’s Digit will provide an effective and durable solution for women veterans with partial hand amputation and ensure their ability to enjoy their work, family, and life to the fullest.