The issue:
Many lower-leg prosthetics look the same, and little customization is readily available. Currently, for those who wish to customize their prosthetic, most require purchasing a new part for their existing brand-specific prosthetic or buying an entirely new one altogether.
Helping women feel comfortable in their prosthetic skin:
Women are almost 20% more likely to reject a prosthetic than men and are likely to report that gender differences are over-generalized as primarily focused on aesthetics.
Also, women with physical disabilities report higher rates of depression than their male counterparts because of the stigma associated with not only their gender, but also their disability (Greenhalg, 2021).
Celebrating our differences
Young women with limb differences
Most mobility aids are designed for pediatric patients or adults, leaving little room for teenagers with growing and changing bodies and aesthetics. This group of young women needs a way to modify the look of their prosthetic to match their choice of dress, be it casual or formal.
Tactics
Employ the use of a unique and removable pylon clamp that allows the design of fashionable, wearable attachments for prosthetics that can be changed, allowing the user to to celebrate limb differences rather than hide them.
The Clamp
While other designs use a sock-like slip to only cover the existing sleeve, my designs for prosthetic adornments attach to the pylon, or pole supporting the middle of the prosthetic. Pylons vary from 31mm-34mm, so I designed an adjustable clamp lined with rubber to prevent slipping. This clamp can be attached to and removed from the pylon with a simple Phillips screwdriver, and the adornment is directly soldered in place on the clamp. Simply clamp the two halves together to enjoy a beautiful new leg!
Process
Research
Prosthetic limbs, especially legs, do much more than serve a functional purpose. While all prosthetics deal with aesthetics to some degree, their main purpose is to provide mobility assistance. In preparation for designing fashionable prosthetics, I started with research. Who wears fashionable prosthetics? What do these people want from their prosthetics? What is the appropriate weight? Are there specs to match? What kind of designs are already out there? I learned about proper weights, sizes, and what kind of products are on the market for this idea.
This research led me to the idea of an adjustable clamp that attaches to the pylon. This way the adornment can fit any leg and may be attached and removed without damaging the prosthetic or requiring too much from the user.
Sketch
Once I learned my design parameters, I hit the sketchbook. I created designs that attached to the pylon and grew around the leg from there. Metal wire, metal sheets and wooden forms could all be attached to the pylon clamp easily, making for a simple way to dramatically change the look of the prosthetic. I expanded upon my favorite designs and drew them in perspective for rendering.
Vizcom.ai
Vizcom.ai is an online artificial intelligence rendering software. I fed my designs into Vizcom and generated renderings. Playing with keywords until the result was what I was looking for, I kept tweaking my sketches and prompts. Eventually I achieved results I could use.
Photoshop
Once I had some good renderings, I photoshopped them onto models to complete the look and showcase the aesthetic.
