Design Refinement Discussion – Community Prosthetic Fitting Initiative

[zhub9006]

Community Prosthetic Fitting Initiative — Design Refinement Coordination

This is a coordination issue for the community prosthetic fitting initiative, bringing together engineers from Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, MA to refine open-source prosthetic designs for accessibility and affordability.

Key Discussion Points

1. Current Open-Source Repositories

   • OpenBionics/Prosthetic-Hands (178 stars) — Affordable (<$200), lightweight (<300g) anthropomorphic hands with a novel whiffletree differential mechanism. 144 grasps with 1 actuator. CAD files and assembly guides available.
   • r-echeverri/Open-Source-Low-Cost-Myoelectric-Prosthetic-Arm — FDM 3D-printed myoelectric transradial arm. Total cost ~$263 with PLA/TPU 85A and off-the-shelf electronics.
   • Open-Bionics/Beetroot — Brunel hand control firmware for Chestnut PCB (C++)
   • Open-Bionics/Artichoke — Ada hand control firmware for Almond board (C++)

2. Volunteer Contributors

   • OpenBionics [org], Open-Bionics [org], zhub9006, r-echeverri, idoco2003, Prosthetic, bcnight

3. Clinical Trial Landscape (from ClinicalTrials.gov — 2,172 prosthetic-related studies)

   • By Sponsor Type: OTHER (1,667), INDUSTRY (381), FED (52), OTHER_GOV (46), NETWORK (23), NIH (2)
   • By Phase: Unknown (650), NA (1,266), Phase 3 (70), Phase 4 (91), Phase 2 (78), Phase 1 (35), Early Phase 1 (10)
   • Most active: INDIVIDUAL clinical studies and industry-sponsored trials
   • Growing focus: Myoelectric control, targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR), osseointegration, 3D-printed components

4. Meeting Venue Recommendation

   • MIT Media Lab area — Accessible, maker-friendly, central to all three locations
   • Artisan's Asylum (Somerville) — Maker space, wheelchair accessible
   • Main Boston Public Library (Copley Square) — Free meeting rooms, accessible
   • Harvard Allston campus — Open community spaces

Action Items

• Schedule in-person coordination meeting
• Identify 1-2 priority mechanical improvements for open-source designs
• Catalog existing clinical trial findings for reference
• Recruit additional volunteer engineers from Boston/Cambridge/Somerville area
• Plan community fitting event logistics

Labels

prosthetics, open-source, community, design-refinement, boston, help-wanted