Partial Hand Prosthesis: Design and Simulation

Abstract

Nowadays, engineering has attempted to find a way to replace the loss of human limbs with unnatural devices that approximate their actual function. Current devices vary from hooks, mechanical prostheses, or simply cosmetic prostheses, where an important component when deciding which one to use is the cost of it, even above functionality. The aim of this article is the development of a mechanical prototype for partial hand prosthesis for patients who have suffered partial (middle and distal phalanges) or total (proximal, middle, and distal phalanges) finger mutilation. The results of this work show that the mechanism and the proposed design of the prosthesis are satisfactory to simulate the movement of a human finger, while the finite element analysis shows that the proposed design can adequately support the loads for extreme conditions.