Influence of lifestyle pattern on preference for prosthetic hands: Understanding the development pathway for 3D-printed prostheses

Abstract

Assistive technologies have been recognized as a particularly powerful aid for increasing the independence and social integration of the people with disabilities in an aging society, where the extent of acquired disability is significant. For the development of novel assistive technologies to be effective, it is necessary to properly understand the needs of consumers. Therefore, this study identifies the heterogeneous preference of potential users of 3D-printed prosthetic hands with regards to their daily lifestyle patterns using discrete choice experiment and latent class analysis. The results indicate that the consumers of prosthetic hands have varying group-wise preferences for different types of prosthetics based on their lifestyle patterns. Specifically, those who spend more time at home were less concerned about weight and dexterity than those who were younger and spent more time outside at work and leisure. In all, the development of 3D-printed prosthetic hands needs to be directed towards reducing weight and increasing functionality for further adoption. Our findings will enhance the understanding of assistive technologies adoption and provide important strategic implications by suggesting the required progress and development pathway of 3D-printed prosthetic hands to increase market penetration and satisfy unmet needs.