USING PRACTICE LED DESIGN RESEARCH TO DEVELOP AN ARTICULATED MECHANICAL ANALOGY OF THE HUMAN HAND

Contemporary prostheses have developed from small iterations on modera tely successful archetypes. This has resulted in modern designs that c an either be termed cosmetic or functional, with neither attribute bei ng fully satisfied. A new strategy is needed to develop a generation o f upper-limb prostheses that will integrate both cosmetic and function al requirements in a single device. It is hypothesized that design pri nciples applicable to a new generation of prostheses will result from exploring close analogies to the human upper limb. A method of practic e led design. research has been adopted to explore appropriate analogi es, using the production of physical models to elucidate the design pr oblem to the design team and other interested parties. This method use s a consciously iterative approach whereby criticisms and lessons lear nt in the development of early models are embodied in subsequent model s. This paper describes the first iterative cycle. It includes a criti cal review of the devices currently available and a study of mechanica l analogies to original anatomy which form two of the inputs to the de velopment of a skeletal model hand. It details the lessors learnt from this study and concludes on the wider application of practice led des ign research in medical engineering.