DEKA Innovative Solutions, Manchester, New Hampshire, was awarded a $6,977,028 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the design, development, manufacture, and delivery of sensorized prosthetic arms for use under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Hand Proprioception and Touch Interfaces (HAPTIX) program, and manufacture and delivery of prosthetic arms for use under the DARPA Revolutionizing Prosthetics Follow-on Studies (RPFS). DEKA will train DARPA HAPTIX and RPFS performers on the setup and operation of the arm systems, and will provide technical support, maintenance, and repair of the arm systems during the HAPTIX Program and RPFS studies.
The HAPTIX program will develop new science and technology to achieve closed-loop control of this dexterous mechatronic prosthesis in order to provide individuals with upper-limb amputations with the feel and function of natural limbs. System performance and the ultimate benefit to prosthetic users will be determined in a year-long take-home trial. These efforts will position the government with the required data to seek market approval and deliver the system into the wider patient population.
The RPFS effort will provide the U.S. Food and Drug Administration an approved variant of the DEKA arm system to researchers for continued studies. The aim of these studies is to inform product and reimbursement code submissions to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. These studies will also validate prescription criteria and explore other control techniques with the aim of ensuring the DEKA arm system can accommodate the broadest user community possible. Work will be performed in Manchester during the 57-month period of performance.
