L2M NSERC - Development of a low-cost prosthetic glove

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Many recipients of prosthetic arms want a hand that is functional and closely resembles a human hand. Users of prosthetic devices may be self-conscious about their missing limb and may not want to publicly show the terminal end of their prosthetic device, so they desire/want a cosmetic glove to cover their prosthetic device. The proposed invention is a unique approach to manufacturing low-cost prosthetic gloves using 3D-printed molds. 3D-printing minimizes the production costs for the cosmetic prosthetic gloves and allows for the complex geometry of an organically shaped hand to be replicated. This improves access to prosthetic gloves for amputees in-need, allows the glove design to be easily customized to the specific prosthetic hand models, and optimizes the manufacturing process. This is a novel approach for creating prosthetic gloves at a lower-cost, and it allows for producing the gloves in clinics, rather than in a central factory. This results in greater access to low-cost, cosmetic prosthetic gloves for users. This gives clinicians the ability to create the customized (i.e. shape and color) gloves themselves, without needing to rely on prosthetic manufacturers, reducing the costs and wait times for amputees.