Unique Ways for Patients to Customize a Prosthetic
The World Health Organization estimates that 30 million people around the world need prosthetics. This is to aid in mobility, usually because of a limb deformity at birth, or a traumatic injury. One way that people move forward after the loss of a limb is to have their prosthetic limb customized to suit their tastes and interests.
The choices patients make with personalized prosthetics may be as limitless as their imagination. Recent advances in prosthetic design help make personalized prosthetics a real possibility for millions of people. Here are some great ideas your patients can have for customizing their prosthetic device.
Personalizing Prosthetics
One of the most common ways to have personalized prosthetics is to incorporate a design into the prosthetic fabrication. For example, an athlete may want to incorporate a favorite t-shirt onto their above knee or below knee prosthetic.A t-shirt can be fitted onto the cast of the prosthetic leg. Liquid acrylic is poured over the shirt to seal it in place.
Another way to get personalized prosthetics is to have a design painted or airbrushed onto the prosthetic. Many people have school, athletic team, country flag, or state outline painted onto their prosthetics and then sealed.
Airbrushing or spray skins can add artistic flair to prosthetics. What if your patient needs a prosthetic design for an upper extremity? No worries. Personalized prosthetics can also be designed for upper extremity prosthetics as well after the central fabrication process.
What Are Some Ideas for Customization After Central Fab?
Often, design ideas happen after fabrication but before the materials are laminated for the prosthetic. Elite Paraolympians may choose to duplicate a phrase or piece of artwork they love into their prosthetic. If someone loses their leg below the knee, and had a favorite tattoo on it, the tattoo design can be replicated.
If a patient loves the artwork of Van Gogh or Renoir, they can have a small sample of art on their new prosthetic. Graffiti art from street artists is also a popular choice because of the beauty and originality of each design.
A patient’s prosthetic should be personalized for them and their lifestyle. In the past, prosthetics were one-dimensional and boring in design. With modern technology designing personalized prosthetics allows a patient to have an Ironman-designed prosthesis for their leg.
They can even choose an upper extremity prosthetic that is a gorgeous field of flowers.
How your patients decide to customize their prosthesis are limited only by what they dream up. Many people even start Pinterest pages with prosthetic design ideas so that they can create the perfect design for them.
Why Choose Grace Prosthetic Fabrication?
One of the best reasons to choose Grace Prosthetic Fabrication is because we innovate better than anyone in the industry. We are the inventors of Grace Plates and Grace Gauntlets, which have revolutionized the industry. When you want to give your patients personalized prosthetics on the forefront of advanced technology, contact our team.
