Prosthetic Leg (2007)

​​Featured in Tuvie.com and more.

Letʼs suppose you had a car accident and had to have one of your legs amputated above the knee. What would be needed to maintain your desire for a “normal” life? As you go through the physical and emotional pain, you realize that your range of activity could be limited. The prosthetics you find in the market will be mostly skeleton shaped, robot-looking, or even shapes like a large hook (carbon fibered “Cheetah” prosthetics,) and most likely the picture you see entering the prosthetic facility is amputees running in the Para Olympics. Sounds very hopeful and encouraging, but that person doesn't feel or look like you do. 

The market is moving toward prosthetics that have both the same functionality as the limb they replace and also have the same form and look, but this function-driven approach has neglected the social aspect of the prosthetics. As a result, people still stare at amputees with a mixture of sympathy, curiosity and some times fear.

The next step for prosthetic design would create a structural platform using 3D body scanning and 3D printing that allows the personalization, not only of fit and function, but also an aesthetically pleasing design, to provide the possibility of the emotional healing as well.