8/25/2010
Think you have to wait until graduation to make a difference in the world? Think again. Jonathan Naber, senior in materials science and engineering, and his team of fellow engineering students spent their summer testing prosthetic limbs in the developing nation Guatemala.
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Think you have to wait until graduation to make a difference in the world? Think again. Jonathan Naber, senior in materials science and engineering, and his team of fellow engineering students spent their summer testing prosthetic limbs in the developing nation Guatemala.
Naber, winner of the $30,000 Lemelson MIT-Illinois Student Prize, and his organization, called IPT (Illini Prosthetic Technologies), received a Clinton Global Initiative Grant to travel to Guatemala to test their prosthetic limbs in a developing nation.
According to its website, IPT strives to help overcome a major global issue: 25 million people in the world are missing one or more limbs due to landmines, violence, farming accidents, birth defects, disease and other causes. Of these people, 80 percent are living in developing nations.
"The amputees we worked with had lost their arms due to causes ranging from electrical accidents to machete attacks,” Naber said. “The causes varied, but the prognosis for each patient was the same — they cannot return to their normal level of activity until they are given a proper prosthetic arm replacement."
To help conquer this problem, Naber and IPT partnered with the Range of Motion Project (ROMP), a non-governmental organization operating in Guatemala and founded by Illinois alumnus David Krupa. ROMP operates a prosthetic clinic in Zacapa, Guatemala.
From July 9-18, Naber and IPT conducted the first field testing for three completely different concept arms on multiple patients. IPT's main product is a below-the-elbow prosthetic arm replacement, offering lower cost and increased breathability and adjustability over conventional prosthetic arms.
“(The three concept) arms had been developed during a rigorous product development process lasting several months and were professionally produced at local manufacturers,” Naber said.
IPT also conducted detailed interviews with patients while working alongside local staff members who are very experienced in fitting prosthetic arms and legs on patients. The results of the interviews and hands-on prosthetic fittings will help IPT adjust its strategies for how to structure its goals and how to create higher quality prosthetic limbs.
The next step for Naber and IPT is to continue raising money — the group is planning a fundraiser in November to sponsor further collaboration with ROMP – and to complete further field testing, with trips tentatively slated for winter break 2010-11 and summer 2011.
"Our plan ahead is to conduct two more product development iterations within the next year, and we hope to one day soon produce these arms and distribute them through the various organizations working with amputees throughout the developing world," Naber said.
The members of IPT are: Jonathan Naber (president), Adam Booher (director of engineering), Ehsan Noursalehi (director of product development), Hari Vigneswaran (director of patient relations), Luke Jungles, and Richard Kesler.
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Writer: Alex Iniguez, Engineering Communications Office.
If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, Engineering Communications Office, 217/244-7716, editor.