Open Arms

Mar 17, 2009, 07:02 (2 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Jonathan Kuniholm)

"As I discovered the difference between the science fiction and the reality of prosthetic arms, I tried to come up with a solution. I came up with some ideas for simple improvements to the body-powered arms I prefer, but I quickly realized that there wasn't much of a business case for commercialization. So some friends and I started the Open Prosthetics Project in Durham as an online clearinghouse for sharing prosthetic arm designs. The project attacks the most obvious barrier to innovation by giving people a forum in which to share their ideas. We want to start a dialogue among all the stakeholders. We want users and technicians to improve and tweak the technologies they use instead of being stuck with whatever one-size-fits-most device they get (for example, there is a section on our Web site called "Pimp My Arm"). A technically inclined amputee or technician can download our computer-aided design (CAD) files, modify them, and send them to a machinist.

"We hoped that we could disrupt the stagnant commercial market, as Linux has for software. We thought openness was the solution. But it turned out not to be that easy."

Complete Story

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