Engineering student designs adjustable and affordable prosthetic hand

Luke Cox, a final-year Staffordshire University engineering student, has used his skills to design an affordable prosthetic hand prototype to help others like him.

Luxe was born with Ectrodactyly, which means he has missing fingers on his right hand. Although Luke can perform most everyday tasks, some are still challenging. This served as the motivation for his final year project at Staffordshire University.

The 26-year-old explained: “Growing up with a disability has made me a very determined and tenacious individual. This has enhanced my problem-solving skills as I have been forced to learn how to complete certain tasks in unconventional manners. I’ve never let it hold me back; I always find a way to push forward.

“This was my main motivation to develop a hand prosthesis and having a subjective viewpoint enabled me to design more empathetically.”

Luke said that while researching, he found limitations in current prostheses, such as children regularly outgrowing and needing to update their assistive devices. He also found that prostheses can be expensive.

“For example, top end prostheses, with electric devices that use muscle signals, can cost around £100,000,” continued Luke. “Even the more basic body actuated models can be up to about £4,000.”

Taking these limitations into consideration, Luke wanted to ensure his prosthetic hand was designed with universality, modularity, and affordability at its core to tackle such issues.

His prosthetic hand is adjustable and has removable fingers, which means it should fit any shaped hand. It is also made using low-cost processes like 3D printing and resin printing.

Luke’s design features in GradEX23 – an online portal of final year projects from hundreds of Staffordshire University students – which can be viewed by prospective employers throughout the summer. However, Luke has already managed to secure a job at Derby-based train manufacturer Alstom before graduating.

Staffordshire University’s Nicola Eddison, Aoife Healy, and Nachiappan Chockalingam have written an exclusive article for AT Today where they discuss their findings from the past decade about how gait is affected by changes to the design of ankle-foot orthoses and whether these changes affect the amount of energy used by the child when walking. Read it here.