Prosthetic design
Left, top and right ©Össur
and active men and women is proving difficult. The numbers requiring prosthesis are likely to rise still further because of the focus placed on sport as a means of rehabilitation, combined with the physical condition and competitive spirit of those who have been in the forces.
were spent on the development of dedicated sporting prosthetics, would amputees have an advantage over the able-bodied?
During his keynote speech, Oscar referenced the extremely competitive nature of Paralympic sport, arguing that the races he competes in are much closer contested than the able-bodied events.
Prosthetists from Headley Court, a British Army Rehabilitation Centre, also presented at the conference. They reported that the number of amputees in the UK is rising due to the number of injured soldiers returning from war. Finding suitable prosthesis for these very fit
I can’t help but wonder whether now is the time for design engineers and innovators from outside the world of prosthetics and orthotics to make our talents known? Why not use the skills we have to combine science, art and engineering and radically change the world of sporting prosthetics? The Olympics and Paralympics should provide inspiration for us all.
The challenge exists not in developing technology which will radicalise the field of Paralympic sport, but in designing limbs which provide optimum performance whilst maintaining the ‘physical-element’ of competition. There is no doubt in my mind that given thought and time, Paralympic sport could become that of the super-abled.
Robyn (left) with Oscar Pistorious and sports engineer Natalie Robson
About the author Robyn Hamilton is a fourth year product design engineering student at the University of Strathclyde. She has interests in a wide range of design disciplines, but her initial decision to study design engineering was based on a desire to design prosthetics. She is currently in the process of designing a device aimed at improving infection control procedures in x-ray departments. She trampolines competitively and enjoys spending time on the Scottish slopes.
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