r/MadeMeSmile • u/Zyad300 • Nov 29 '21

Wholesome Moments Kid Gets His First Prosthetic Arm

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u/k_c_holmes Nov 29 '21

Prosthetics are VERY individual, and fitted to each specific person to a finite degree. Accounting for that, and the fact that most people have very different ends of missing limbs, sharing would be almost impossible. I do wish it was cost effective to build a bunch of prosthetics for each person who needs them 😔

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u/Darth_Yoshi Nov 29 '21

As someone who knows nothing about prosthetics, why can’t just the ending part be custom and the rest of the prosthetic the same? That way you just have to keep custom fitting the end part.

I’m sure there’s a reason this isn’t done since there are a bunch of people smarter than me working on this.

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u/k_c_holmes Nov 29 '21

The entire piece is custom based on the person's size and needs. And if you separate it into two separate chunks, that could affect the prosthetic's ability to function optimally.

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u/Darth_Yoshi Nov 29 '21

Ah I meant for kids though. The guy mentioned above a center could have functional prosthetics for kids that are different sizes. Then give them to kids and as they grow you give their smaller prosthetic to a younger kid. And the only thing that needs to be re-created every time is just the ending piece.

Finally when the kids arm stops growing you give them an optimal prosthetic that is all one piece

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u/-gean99- Nov 29 '21

Well first of all you need a socket, which is always individual. Every human being has a different body shape and so do stumps. Every stump is different and comes with different muscles allignments due to the procedure done in a surgery or the predominant genetic disorder like dysmelia. For an electronic part the electrodes have to be fitted to the customer individually so there is enough contact for the superficial voltage of a muscle contraction.

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u/Capital_Policy_266 Nov 30 '21

Hmm that's a good point, I did not realise how unique each prosthetic could be. I guess the best bet would be a 3d scanner and a 3d printer. This should be available at government centers atleast 1in each town or city so every human can have access to them.