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Mechanical Design Optimization of Prosthetic Hand’s Fingers: Novel Solutions towards Weight Reduction

From the mechanical function of grabbing objects to the emotional aspect of gesturing, the functionality of human hands is fundamental for both physical and social survival. Therefore, the loss of one or both hands represents a devastating issue, exacerbated by long rehabilitation times and psycholo...

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Autores principales: Buccino, Federica, Bunt, Alessandro, Lazell, Alex, Vergani, Laura Maria
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8999927/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35407787
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma15072456
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author Buccino, Federica
Bunt, Alessandro
Lazell, Alex
Vergani, Laura Maria
author_facet Buccino, Federica
Bunt, Alessandro
Lazell, Alex
Vergani, Laura Maria
author_sort Buccino, Federica
collection PubMed
description From the mechanical function of grabbing objects to the emotional aspect of gesturing, the functionality of human hands is fundamental for both physical and social survival. Therefore, the loss of one or both hands represents a devastating issue, exacerbated by long rehabilitation times and psychological treatments. Prosthetic arms represent an effective solution to provide concrete functional and esthetical support. However, commercial hand prostheses still lack an optimal combination of light weight, durability, adequate cosmetic appearance, and affordability. Among these aspects, the priority for upper-limb prosthesis users is weight, a key parameter that influences both the portability and the functionality of the system. The purpose of this work is to optimize the design of the MyHand prosthesis, by redesigning both the proximal and distal finger and thumb in light of finding an optimal balance between weight reduction and adequate stiffness. Starting from elastic–plastic numerical models and experimental tests on obsolete components, analyzed under the worst loading condition, five different design solutions are suggested. An iterative topology optimization process locates the regions where material removal is permitted. From these results, 2 mm geometrical patterns on the top surface of the hand prosthesis appear as the most prominent, preventing object intrusion.
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spelling pubmed-89999272022-04-12 Mechanical Design Optimization of Prosthetic Hand’s Fingers: Novel Solutions towards Weight Reduction Buccino, Federica Bunt, Alessandro Lazell, Alex Vergani, Laura Maria Materials (Basel) Article From the mechanical function of grabbing objects to the emotional aspect of gesturing, the functionality of human hands is fundamental for both physical and social survival. Therefore, the loss of one or both hands represents a devastating issue, exacerbated by long rehabilitation times and psychological treatments. Prosthetic arms represent an effective solution to provide concrete functional and esthetical support. However, commercial hand prostheses still lack an optimal combination of light weight, durability, adequate cosmetic appearance, and affordability. Among these aspects, the priority for upper-limb prosthesis users is weight, a key parameter that influences both the portability and the functionality of the system. The purpose of this work is to optimize the design of the MyHand prosthesis, by redesigning both the proximal and distal finger and thumb in light of finding an optimal balance between weight reduction and adequate stiffness. Starting from elastic–plastic numerical models and experimental tests on obsolete components, analyzed under the worst loading condition, five different design solutions are suggested. An iterative topology optimization process locates the regions where material removal is permitted. From these results, 2 mm geometrical patterns on the top surface of the hand prosthesis appear as the most prominent, preventing object intrusion. MDPI 2022-03-26 /pmc/articles/PMC8999927/ /pubmed/35407787 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma15072456 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Buccino, Federica
Bunt, Alessandro
Lazell, Alex
Vergani, Laura Maria
Mechanical Design Optimization of Prosthetic Hand’s Fingers: Novel Solutions towards Weight Reduction
title Mechanical Design Optimization of Prosthetic Hand’s Fingers: Novel Solutions towards Weight Reduction
title_full Mechanical Design Optimization of Prosthetic Hand’s Fingers: Novel Solutions towards Weight Reduction
title_fullStr Mechanical Design Optimization of Prosthetic Hand’s Fingers: Novel Solutions towards Weight Reduction
title_full_unstemmed Mechanical Design Optimization of Prosthetic Hand’s Fingers: Novel Solutions towards Weight Reduction
title_short Mechanical Design Optimization of Prosthetic Hand’s Fingers: Novel Solutions towards Weight Reduction
title_sort mechanical design optimization of prosthetic hand’s fingers: novel solutions towards weight reduction
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8999927/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35407787
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma15072456
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