When we think of prosthetic limbs, we usually picture bulky, plastic arms and legs in monochrome colours which don't look too pretty (and don't we all want to wear something that makes us feel good?).
Fortunately, amputees don't have to resign themselves to cold-looking prosthetics.
Industrial designer Scott Summit, the founder of Bespoke Innovations, has created stylish and beautiful prosthetics using sound industrial design and information from the amputees themselves.
Summit and his company don't use standard parts. According to core77.com, "they interview amputees, find out what makes them tick, and design some seriously cool custom limbs based on their interests and tastes."
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These hobbies include riding motorcycles and bicycles, playing soccer and getting tattoos, so rather than design an impersonal prosthetic, Summit incoporated these interests into his designs to make them more customized for the individual person.
Summit, in partnership with orthopedic surgeon Dr Kenneth Trauner, use 3D software technologies and rapid prototyping devices to make the prosthetic limbs which for now are targeted at below-the-knee amputees who have one sound leg.
“Each fairing is quite unique based on the patient’s needs," Summit told Geomagic.com, "but our flexibility for custom design using a wide range of materials is very high. Some want practical fairings for daily use made out of heard-wearing nylon. Some want an old tattoo matched onto a leather ‘skin’. Metal fairings that match a favorite motorcycle have a high level of attraction. We can handle just about every request.”
One of these requests came from a client who wanted to wear cocktail-length dresses to concerts without attracting attention to her leg, so Scott and his team developed a fairing that resembled fish-net stockings so they could match her other leg.
They are definitely the most stylish prosthetic limbs we've ever seen!