The Benevolent Technologies for Health (BETH) Project team’s low-cost prosthetic socket design was named one of two James Dyson Award international runner ups. The James Dyson Award is an international student design award. It’s run by the James Dyson Foundation, James Dyson’s charitable trust, as part of its mission to encourage the next generation of design engineers to “design something that solves a problem.”
Photograph of the BETH Project socket courtesy of the BETH Project.
Now in its fourth prototype, the team says the socket is designed to be adjustable, robust, and affordable. It is intended to increase the reach of prosthetic care in developing countries by reducing the dependency on specialized equipment and allowing prosthetists and prosthetic technicians to focus on other care aspects rather than labor-intensive fabrication processes.
It accomplishes this by using what the BETH Project team says is a rigid yet infinitely re-moldable material contained within an elastomeric bladder so when vacuum is applied to the inside of the bladder with a hand pump, the assembly is frozen into the desired shape. It attaches to the prosthesis with a pyramid interface with an air valve connection. In developing this prosthetic socket, the team members have combined their experience in physiology, robotics, material science, and industrial design with the expertise and advice of prosthetists and patients.
The team members include: Elizabeth Tsai, Asa Hammond, and Jason Hill. Tsai received double majors in mechanical engineering and materials science with minors in biomedical engineering and political science, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge. She is pursuing a master of science degree at the MIT Media Lab. Hammond is completing an undergraduate degree in physiological science at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has a background in visual effects and media design. Hill is an experienced human factors researcher and industrial designer. He graduated with honors from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California, in 2009 while completing a joint-study program in business administration at INSEAD Singapore.
