Stanford Speech and Steampunk Prosthetics

If you missed it, above is the link to my Ignite Speech and QA at Stanford Medicine X's School for Design Course. David Ruthven and I had the opportunity to speak about Designing for the Physical Environment. I focused my ignite speech on Prosthetic design. The biggest problem is lack of Patient Centered Designs. For a refresher:

Patient Centered Designs are generally customizable and retain some patient individuality. In the Prosthetic world you need to look no further than the Socket. The patient interface that connects to the prosthesis itself. These are designed for each patient, molded to fit their limb, and often some form of individual design added to make it feel like "mine." As an example:

      

 This is my first socket. Notice the "Jackass Jolly Roger" a great way to individualize a socket

In Contrast, the prosthetic itself is a cookie cutter design that is the same for each patient. No options on colors or exterior design. Otto Bock has helped with making the individual settings customizable to speed up or slow down, add resistance or take it away, or preset settings for specific sports and activities. However, for appearance you, have no options. 

Until Now...I was forced to eat my words by the guys at Digital EFX Wraps 

( http://www.digitalefxwraps.com ) 

They have taken the idea of wrapping a car with a vinyl design and applied to prosthetics. I am the second person to have the opportunity to have my prosthetic customized to a design I chose. I went for an Industrial/Steampunk look. It fits my personality...the great part is they can do anything. I've already been dreaming up my next cover, probably a mixture of anatomy and machine.

I'm so excited at what this will do for amputees and bringing amputation to the forefront of peoples minds. I love that my prosthetic is a piece of art. Let me know what you think. If you want one...message me and I'll get you in contact with Dallas at Digital EFX. Lets get this viral...spread the word!!!