Stepping Out: design research into prosthetic devices
- Submitting institution
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De Montfort University
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 32003
- Type
- T - Other
- DOI
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- Location
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- Brief description of type
- Multi-component output: a collection of creative and critical work on a related topic that address different aspects of a single project and are collectively greater than the sum of their parts
- Open access status
- -
- Month
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- Year
- 2016
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
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- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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0
- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- Stepping Out is an ongoing research project begun by Dean in 2016, investigating the potential of direct metal Additive Manufacture (AM, aka 3D printing) in the design of prosthetic devices. The project considers a three-way balance between structural optimisation, design for additive manufacture and aesthetic vision. The research has two principal strands. A technical strand investigates what we can achieve with digital design and manufacturing technology, specifically complex and structurally optimised structures in titanium, a difficult metal for conventional manufacture.
A further social strand of the research explores the potential for customisation and personalisation afforded by the flexibility of digital design and direct manufacture and considers the desire and personal choice of the prosthesis user. Dean’s research considers individual needs and personal taste in prosthetic limb design, and beyond that, seeks to involve the user in the creative process offering a level of ownership over a device that will become part of them.
Working with international partners including:
Orthotist prosthetist Mr Heinrich Grimsehl and The Amputee Rehabilitation Centre, ARC, Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital in Johannesburg
Central University of Technology, CUT, Freestate, South Africa, and their Centre for Rapid Design and Manufacture
The National Laser Centre, Centre for Industrial and Scientific Research, CSIR, Pretoria, South Africa
and integrating previous research in both mass customisation and design for direct metal Additive Manufacture, the team, led by Dean, designed a couture device for special occasions for the collaborating wearer. The research integrates design thinking and use of topological optimisation strategies first explored in collaborative research with the then EPSRC, Centre of Innovative Research in Additive Manufacture, Loughborough.
Further collaborations are under discussion with partners in France including
The University of Lorraine, Metz
Metz Superlec and the Innodesign Lab
Orthomas, prosthetics clinic, Metz
With the aim of achieving a more accessible commercial customisation model.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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