Why should amputees have to wear the same, boring prosthetics as one other, day after day? It turns out that they don't, if they buy a new leg from Bespoke Innovations.
Above you see a few of the custom-built designs from the San-Francisco company. Bespoke tailor-makes fairings: The actual mechanics of the prosthetics are standard, but the outside can be made to look like anything you like. Like to ride a Harley? Then why not get a matching chrome calf? Leather? Hardwood? You got it.
Scott Summit, the designer at Bespoke, explains that in single amputees, the remaining leg is scanned and mirrored to give the correct geometry for the peg leg. For double amputees, a donor is found of the same size and shape, and their legs are scanned.
And why not? After all, we change our spectacles to match our clothes, and now you can choose a leg based on its look instead of just buying a standard, ugly titanium rod.
If this interests you, and you have seven minutes to spare while you sip a coffee, it's worth watching Core77's interview with Summit (embedded below). He has a very nice take on why these one-off pieces are so rewarding to design, and goes into some detail on the manufacturing process, which uses additive manufacturing, a species of 3-D printing.
Interview with Scott Summit of Bespoke Innovations, creator of kick-ass prosthetics
See Also:
- DARPA Pushes for Fail-Proof Prosthetics
- Dean Kamen's Robot Arm Grabs More Publicity
- Bionic Cat Walks on Prosthetic Legs
- Tentacle-Like Prosthetic Arm Will Haunt Your Dreams
[Core77]
