A cost-effective prosthetic leg: Design and development

Abstract

A prosthesis is an artificial device that substitutes a missing body component as a result of injury, disease, or congenital flaws. Prostheses are designed to help amputees to reclaim their usual activities. The human leg is a complicated bodily part that is required for daily mobility and activity. The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that, around 1,000,000 amputees in Bangladesh need prostheses to perform daily functions like walking, climbing stairs and working. When they try to reintegrate into society after their tragic loss, they confront emotional trauma in addition to their physical anguish. Their financial situation puts them in a precarious position, preventing them from having any economic contributions to their family. They may have feelings of loss of self, social stigma, coping difficulties, and despair if they do not have a prosthesis. Even though prostheses are in use in rehabilitation sectors in Bangladesh, they are expensive and mostly import-oriented, and thus remain out of reach for the general people. This research aims to address this issue by developing a fully mechanical trans-femoral prosthetic leg that is accessible to low-income people, allowing them to participate in their regular work. The transfemoral prosthetic leg has various unique features, including the ability to absorb shock like a knee joint, a mechanical knee joint that may allow flexion and extension, and a light total weight. The trans-femoral prosthetic leg was developed using all the local (Bangladeshi) resources/materials and was tested to be preliminarily functional while cost-effective. However, a proper clinical trial is needed to make it commercially available, which is under preparation.