Design and Development of an Open-Source Adl-Compliant Prosthetic Arm for Trans-Radial Amputees

Abstract

Presently, open source prosthesis are not optimized to assist the dominant hand in performing bimanual ADL. This research study was thus geared towards the design and experimental validation of an open-source below-elbow prosthetic arm, called the ADL arm, that is functionally optimized for the performance of ADL in the unilateral TR amputee population. The ADL arm is 3D printed; the design validation involved functional assessment - using the AHAP and simulated use assessment with healthy volunteer participants after obtaining Ethics approval. In accordance with AHAP; the ADL arm presented with an overall GAS of 68% and a partial GAS of >75 % for 4/5 ADL grasps. Usability Assessment involved the performance of ADL tasks coupled with the completion of the SUS. The perceived usability of the device was found to increase with increased device familiarity, yielding an overall score of 84.29. Through the tests conducted, the ADL arm was found to be functionally competent, relatively acceptable with proven ability to assist in the performance of ADLs in a simulated-use environment. A number of design modifications and clinical tests are however recommended to overcome the limitations of the current design and corroborate the results obtained in this study.