College - Author 1

College of Engineering

Department - Author 1

Biomedical Engineering Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BS in Biomedical Engineering

College - Author 2

College of Engineering

Department - Author 2

Mechanical Engineering Department

Degree - Author 2

BS in Mechanical Engineering

College - Author 3

College of Engineering

Department - Author 3

Mechanical Engineering Department

Degree - Author 3

BS in Mechanical Engineering

Date

6-2024

Primary Advisor

Iian Black, College of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Department

Abstract/Summary

Approximately 1.7 million people in the United States use a limb prosthetic [1]. For these individuals, their prosthetic often enables them to engage in their choice of physical activities. Many prosthetic companies design prosthetic limbs for use in specific athletic activities such as weightlifting. These devices are not designed for everyday wear or a large variety of tasks but enable the person to interact with free weights and workout machines. According to an email conversation between the team and Bob Radocy, Founder of Therapeutic Recreational Services (TRS Inc.) and upper limb amputee, while he could not reveal how many people purchased these attachments, he could say that three of their weightlifting attachments are the most popular attachments with the Black Iron Trainer being the most popular. And writing, “For myself, and I'm in the gym at least three times a week I combine a modified GRIP 2SS and my Black Iron Trainer and essentially access any type of exercise and weightlifting equipment designed for two-handed individuals.” TRS Inc. was founded in 1979 to address Bob Radocy’s frustration at the limited nature of commercially available prosthetics [2]. This all indicates that being able to interact with weightlifting equipment is popular among people who use prosthetics to aid in their exercise regimes. So much so that an amputee founded a lasting company primarily dedicated to the creation of these devices. This project is being done as part of California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo’s (Cal Poly SLO) Interdisciplinary Senior Engineering Project. Madeline Everson is a senior at Cal Poly SLO majoring in Materials Engineering who has a left hand that developed abnormally. Madeline enjoys lifting weights in the gym but is unable to do so in a safe and comfortable way with her current prosthetic. The objective of this project is to design and develop a new lower arm prosthetic specific to Madeline’s personal needs and weightlifting goals to allow her to exercise safely and effectively, but not necessarily serve as something she would wear every day. Madeline was previously fitted for a TRS prosthetic, but it has since deteriorated and now she wants to get a new prosthetic that solves the specific issues she had while using the TRS prosthetic. Even though the prosthetic was initially molded to fit her arm, a combination of her limb growth, deformation due to use, and her unique needs, has resulted in it no longer being able to assist her in the exercises she wants to engage in. By bringing this problem to a Senior Project team, a unique prosthetic specific to her needs may be created.

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