Dick Plettenburg designed a lightweight prosthesic hand for children that is water- and sand-resistant.,,Electric prosthesis are a misery for children,” says Dick Plettenburg, of the Man-Machine-Systems department.
,,They are too big, heavy, and slow. Picking up candy takes two and a half seconds. And if it’s used in a sandbox or the water one time, it’s broken.” Plettenburg therefore wanted to design a better prosthetic hand for children. He invented and tested a prosthesis driven by a pneumatic engine rather than an electric engine, which is commonly used today.
Plettenburg’s new fake hand uses a gas driven motor, which enables children to build sand castles and play in the water. There are some disadvantages, however. ,,It’s heavy for children to lug around an air-cylinder and a CO2 gas bottle, and, besides, these bottles are empty after half a day.”
The starting point for Plettenburg was designing a light and fast pneumatic hand prosthesis with two functions: grabbing and pinching, while consuming as little gas as possible. His prototype was tested 77,000 in the laboratory and proved to be sound. The final version of his prosthesis will weight 60 grams, and Plettenburg hopes the first child will be using it in Spring of 2003.
In Holland, some 3,750 people depend on such a helping hand, the ‘result’ of sixty accidents a year and the fact that annually 18 children are born with arm defects. ,,Such a small number of people, relatively speaking, in need of hands is not interesting for investors,” Plettenburg says. ,,So there’s very little investment interest.”
Dick Plettenburg designed a lightweight prosthesic hand for children that is water- and sand-resistant.
,,Electric prosthesis are a misery for children,” says Dick Plettenburg, of the Man-Machine-Systems department. ,,They are too big, heavy, and slow. Picking up candy takes two and a half seconds. And if it’s used in a sandbox or the water one time, it’s broken.” Plettenburg therefore wanted to design a better prosthetic hand for children. He invented and tested a prosthesis driven by a pneumatic engine rather than an electric engine, which is commonly used today.
Plettenburg’s new fake hand uses a gas driven motor, which enables children to build sand castles and play in the water. There are some disadvantages, however. ,,It’s heavy for children to lug around an air-cylinder and a CO2 gas bottle, and, besides, these bottles are empty after half a day.”
The starting point for Plettenburg was designing a light and fast pneumatic hand prosthesis with two functions: grabbing and pinching, while consuming as little gas as possible. His prototype was tested 77,000 in the laboratory and proved to be sound. The final version of his prosthesis will weight 60 grams, and Plettenburg hopes the first child will be using it in Spring of 2003.
In Holland, some 3,750 people depend on such a helping hand, the ‘result’ of sixty accidents a year and the fact that annually 18 children are born with arm defects. ,,Such a small number of people, relatively speaking, in need of hands is not interesting for investors,” Plettenburg says. ,,So there’s very little investment interest.”
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