The AMPARO prosthetic socket, created by a German startup of the same name, has been listed among Mashable.com’s 21 Incredible Innovations That Improved the World in 2016. [http://mashable.com/2016/12/18/social-good-innovations-2016/#5dGVt_oAomql] The list is made up of inventions that provide impactful solutions to pressing problems around the world and that contribute to the social good.
The AMPARO socket can be quickly molded and fitted to a patient’s individual geometry and shape. It is a simplified process that can be completed in as little as two hours. It can also be remolded to allow for volume changes of the residual limb, and adjusted at home instead of at the prosthetist’s office, which may not be easily accessible in developing countries.
AMPARO also received an award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Innovation Showcase in June and the grand prize at the Change the World Challenge sponsored by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in April. The socket technology was created by Matthew Dion, a class of 2017 RPI biomedical engineering student.