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Research University - Warsaw University of Technology

Work in progress on a modular hand prosthesis at WUT

Each year, around 185 thousand people worldwide undergo amputation. It is estimated that this number will double by 2050. A team from the Warsaw University of Technology is working on a universal and cheap hand prosthesis, the elements of which would be replaceable and could "grow" with the user.

Photo of Ewelina Drelich working on the prosthesis model.

Ewelina Drelich working on the prosthesis model

Ewelina Drelich, a graduate of engineering studies at the Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering, and currently a student of the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology, came up with the idea of creating a modular hand prosthesis. Where did the inspiration come from?

Childhood dreams

– Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of being a doctor. Unfortunately, I am very much afraid of blood. I decided that it was not a good idea, because I would faint in front of a patient every time – Ewelina Drelich laughs.

Nonetheless, the student found a way to help people. She started studying at the Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering in the field of automation and robotics, specializing in biomechanics and bio-robotics. When looking for a topic for an engineering thesis, she considered making a small humanoid robot. However, it turned out to be too big of a project. She decided to concentrate on its part - a hand.

– I figured that creating a hand prosthesis will be a great alternative. Thanks to this, I can help people with a real problem – hand amputation, combining it with my passion for technology – she says.

The main goal of my work was to create the basis of the prosthesis mechanism, which in the future could be used to build a "universal" prosthesis, i.e. that could cheaply - by replacing appropriate skeletal elements "grow" with a person. One of the key design assumptions was also the "closure" of the prosthetic mechanism, that is, placing all mechanisms inside the housing. 

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The project "Anthropomorphic hand prosthesis – construction and study of the functioning of the thumb prototype” is financed under the "Excellence Initiative – Research University" program, implemented at Warsaw University of Technology. It was among the laureates of the competition for research grants "BIOTECHMED-2: Start" of the POB Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering Research Center.