YOUSSEF TAYEB INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER
LOW-COST TRANS-TIBIAL PROSTHETICS
Open-source, rapid-prototype driven fabrication
From Left to right: /1//FDM 3D printed trans-tibial socket /2// Open-source FDM printer /3// Open-source 3D scanner
Fabricated using a self-built open-source FDM 3D-printer
Working with open-source hardware, software and O.E.M components required hundred of hours of continuous testing, modification and calibration.
From Left to right: /1//FDM 3D printed trans-tibial socket /2// Open-source FDM printer /3// Open-source 3D scanner
HONOURS YEAR INDUSTRIAL DESIGN THESIS PROJECT
Industrial Design graduate project which considers a mobile method of fabricating economical prosthetic devices for developing countries. Research for this project began with a trip to Sri Lanka where I was introduced to the current labour and material intensive methods of producing prosthetics in the field.
The project was approached with the intent of utilising emerging technologies to reduce setup/production costs in the fabrication of trans-tibial prosthesis, in direct response to the ‘ground’ research conducted.
Adopting a low-cost, open-source ethos, I was able to tap in to the technical expertise and collective knowledge of online communities dedicated to these technologies. The information drawn from these sources informed the design of a 3D scanning system which translated an amputee’s residual limb into malleable digital data.
This topographical information was then processed to customise the interface between an individual and a prosthetic device for fabrication on a 3D printer. The marriage of these technologies produced a viable process for fabricating prosthetics in developing nations. Maintaining a high degree of transparency in my research and design, I have openly shared my work with the online communities I drew knowledge from, in the hope of a collective advancement of my ground work.