LIMBER Prosthetics and Orthotics Information

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that out of over 40 million amputees worldwide, only 5% have access to prosthetics or other assistive devices. As a result, a staggering 38 million people, two million of whom are in the United States, live restricted and often painful lives. Among the contributing medical conditions that are causing more than 185,000 Americans to lose limbs every year are vascular disease (54%), often in the form of diabetes, trauma (44%), and cancer (2%). In developing countries, the situation looks particularly grim and is further amplified by the global impact of Covid-19 on the medical system at large and the access to medical care in particular. Even before the pandemic, millions of amputees were left behind because of limited or no access to medical facilities, with prosthetics being too expensive and poorly fitting. The custom-fit requirements make it particularly difficult to mass-produce low-cost devices and the lack of access to proper health care and medical professionals prevents adjustments needed to maintain safe, comfortable, reliable, and safe prosthetic devices. Even a small imperfection at the prosthesis-limb interface can be the difference between an amputee wearing a prosthesis or choosing to sacrifice the utility and mobility that we take for granted. Our team has developed an integrative approach for the design and layered manufacturing of highly customizable prosthetics. An approach that promises to transform the access to and the utility of prosthetic devices.