A Norwegian design student has developed an award-winning prosthetic arm concept that aims for beauty as well as function. Hans Huseklepp's Immaculate Prosthetics arm design for transhumeral amputations won the 2008 Creativity and Risk Taking award for students from the Norwegian Industrial Designers' group at the Oslo School of Architectures (AHO Works) exhibition. Huseklepp told The O&P EDGE that his goal in creating the arm design was "to identify possibilities and new concepts for prosthetics." He has also written that the project is designed to question the drive for normalcy and imitation of life in prosthetics and "instead attempts to incorporate identity and new functionality." The 24-year-old designer compares his design with eyeglass frames, saying, "These support products have gone from being purely functional to [becoming] objects of fashion and identity.... [The Immaculate arm is] an object of beauty instead of a technological object masquerading as a natural arm." The arm is designed to be neurologically controlled and has an exterior made of fabric clad in Corian plates. Huseklepp said in a press release, "The Corian allows embedded technology to be seamlessly integrated, and in union with the textile gives the prosthetic a clear graphical identity. Each joint is a globe joint, allowing a larger freedom of movement than a normal human arm." The design is currently a nonworking prototype, but Huseklepp said that he would be "more than interested in coming in contact and dialogue with the industry regarding the possibilities for turning it into a marketable product." He told The O&P EDGE, "I'm passionate and dedicated about my work, and love to work with design innovations with the potential to change the way products are perceived and how they affect peoples lives."
A Norwegian design student has developed an award-winning prosthetic arm concept that aims for beauty as well as function. Hans Huseklepp's Immaculate Prosthetics arm design for transhumeral amputations won the 2008 Creativity and Risk Taking award for students from the Norwegian Industrial Designers' group at the Oslo School of Architectures (AHO Works) exhibition. Huseklepp told The O&P EDGE that his goal in creating the arm design was "to identify possibilities and new concepts for prosthetics." He has also written that the project is designed to question the drive for normalcy and imitation of life in prosthetics and "instead attempts to incorporate identity and new functionality." The 24-year-old designer compares his design with eyeglass frames, saying, "These support products have gone from being purely functional to [becoming] objects of fashion and identity.... [The Immaculate arm is] an object of beauty instead of a technological object masquerading as a natural arm." The arm is designed to be neurologically controlled and has an exterior made of fabric clad in Corian plates. Huseklepp said in a press release, "The Corian allows embedded technology to be seamlessly integrated, and in union with the textile gives the prosthetic a clear graphical identity. Each joint is a globe joint, allowing a larger freedom of movement than a normal human arm." The design is currently a nonworking prototype, but Huseklepp said that he would be "more than interested in coming in contact and dialogue with the industry regarding the possibilities for turning it into a marketable product." He told The O&P EDGE, "I'm passionate and dedicated about my work, and love to work with design innovations with the potential to change the way products are perceived and how they affect peoples lives."