Editor’s note: Links to video and high-resolution images for download appear at the end of this release. 

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Mike Williams
713-348-6728
mikewilliams@rice.edu

Stand-up students design aid for prosthetic patients

Rice University students assemble support stand to make leg prosthetics easier to fit 

HOUSTON – (March 31, 2017) – Getting a prosthetic leg will be a little more comfortable for patients with a device assembled by Rice University freshmen.

The Castaway team of students reconfigured an exercise machine to support patients who have to stand as they are fitted for prosthetics. The goal is to help them be as comfortable as possible while casts are made and prosthetics fitted.

Rice University freshman Isabel Gonzalez adjusts a setting on the Castaway team’s device to make long fitting sessions more comfortable for patients being fitted for a prosthetic leg. Photo by Jeff Fitlow

The students — Michael Young, Isabel Gonzalez, Brian Ying, Regina Barcio and Chinwe Appio-Riley — chose the project during a freshman engineering class that challenges them to find practical solutions for real-world problems.

The project began with a request by the Texas Medical Center branch of the Hanger Clinic, which specializes in prosthetics and orthotics. The hope was to not only make patients more comfortable, but also make the final prosthetic a better fit.

“Right now, they use parallel bars, so the patients have to support themselves with just their hands,” Barcio said. “And bigger patients can’t really use the bars.”

The stand, built at Rice’s pioneering Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, features a backrest and adjustable armrests to help patients balance and stabilize themselves as they stand on one leg for extended periods. “Our stand is designed for patients from 3 feet 6 inches to 6 feet 6 inches tall, and if they’re taller than that, they might have to lean over a bit,” Barcio said.

Team Castaway, from left: Michael Young, Brian Ying, Isabel Gonzalez, Regina Barcio and Chinwe Appio-Riley. Photo by Jeff Fitlow

“The key thing about being casted is being able to stand upright,” Appio-Riley said. “That way, when they make the mold for a leg, it fits perfectly. If the patient is slouching a little bit, it can mess up the mold and it won’t be comfortable.”

The stand would come in handy at both the initial casting and the final fitting, she said. “They make a plaster (cast of the limb) and use that as a mold because they’re going to make a silicon sheath to put the rest of your leg in,” Appio-Riley explained. “That’s what will hold your leg and attach it to the prosthetic. Plastering takes about 20 minutes, and taking it from plaster to plastic takes about two weeks. Then they’ll order the prosthetic to be attached.”

To test the stand, the team recruited fellow students to hold a position for as long as they could, Ying said. “The record was about two hours,” he said.

Team Castaway member Michael Young prepares to drill a part in the machine shop at the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen. Photo by Jeff Fitlow

The students said they expect to deliver their prototype to the clinic for further refinement. The project was co-sponsored by the Rice 360˚ Institute for Global Health and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Renata Ramos, the team’s faculty adviser, is a lecturer in bioengineering at Rice.

The Castaway team will be among dozens from Rice competing for cash prizes at the George R. Brown School of Engineering’s annual Engineering Design Showcase at the university’s Tudor Fieldhouse at 4:30 p.m. April 13. The event is open to the public.

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See the team’s website at http://oedk.rice.edu/Sys/PublicProfile/34093981/4029765

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews

Video:

https://youtu.be/YpIJygqRI8U

Video produced by Brandon Martin/Rice University

Related materials:

Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen: http://oedk.rice.edu

George R. Brown School of Engineering: https://engineering.rice.edu

Images for download:

http://news.rice.edu/files/2017/03/0403_CASTAWAY-1-WEB-w08zpa.jpg

Rice University freshman Isabel Gonzalez adjusts a setting on the Castaway team’s device to make long fitting sessions more comfortable for patients being fitted for a prosthetic leg. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

http://news.rice.edu/files/2017/03/0403_CASTAWAY-2-WEB-ydnzt7.jpg

Rice University students, from left, Michael Young, Brian Ying, Isabel Gonzalez, Regina Barcio and Chinwe Appio-Riley have developed a stand to help patients steady themselves while being fitted for prosthetic legs. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

http://news.rice.edu/files/2017/03/0403_CASTAWAY-4-WEB-1avjwdd.jpg

Rice University freshman Michael Young prepares to drill a part in the machine shop at the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen. The student and his teammates have developed a stand to help patients steady themselves while being fitted for prosthetic legs. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,879 undergraduates and 2,861 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for happiest students and for lots of race/class interaction by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. To read “What they’re saying about Rice,” go to http://tinyurl.com/RiceUniversityoverview.