I have always dreamed of designing prosthetics to help people with impairments and when an opportunity came in 2021 to help students design various prosthetics, I indulged. One of the goals was to design hand prosthetics for a sculling athlete who has oligodactyly hands. The design should allow the athlete to securely hold and maneuver the oar, despite the lack of fingers in one hand. I was provided by a video footage and also a scanned 3D model of the subject’s hand.

I studied the design objectives and eventually did a deep dive into the rowing sport to understand and appreciate its requirements and objectives, and also to familiarize myself with the movements that the athletes make during the activity. A significant and very interesting discovery was that there are phases in the sculling movement that required certain body movements and hand positioning.

I also took time learning about hand prostheses that were available in the market, as well as accessories relevant to the sport. The variety of hand grips were also key in my search for probable solutions to the design.

Having done significant research, I produced several sketches of probable design solutions for evaluation and feedback.

One of the designs had been selected for development. However, there were additional considerations and requirements to the design, to which I based further modifications on. The result was a more simplified, yet solid glove-like prosthetic that the students printed and tested with the subject.