Coordinate Design Refinement Discussion for Open Source Prosthetic Fitting Initiative

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Proposal: Community Prosthetic Fitting Initiative — Design Refinement Discussion

Background

Our community initiative is coordinating prosthetic fitting events across the Boston metro area. We've analyzed the current landscape of prosthetic clinical trials and open-source design projects to identify opportunities for collaboration and design improvement.

Clinical Trial Landscape

Based on an analysis of 184 prosthetic clinical trials on ClinicalTrials.gov:

By Sponsor Type:

• Other (led by academic/medical institutions): 119 studies (65%) — the most active group
• Industry: 40 studies (22%)
• Federal Government: 22 studies (12%)
• NIH: 1 study
• Other Gov: 2 studies

By Trial Phase:

• Phase Not Applicable (observational/device studies): 129 studies (70%) — dominant phase, reflecting device/interface development
• Unknown/Not Yet Recruiting: 42 studies (23%)
• Phase 3: 4 studies
• Phase 2: 5 studies
• Phase 1: 2 studies
• Early Phase 1: 2 studies
• Phase 4: 1 study

Key Insight: The prosthetic field is heavily driven by academic and medical institutions (OTHER sponsors) working at the device design/observational level. The high number of N/A-phase studies indicates a strong focus on prototyping, fitting, and interface development rather than late-stage efficacy trials. This aligns well with our open-source design refinement goals.

Open-Source Prosthetic Design Projects Identified

Repository	Stars	Focus
pslade2/TactHand	28	Myoelectric hand, <$250, rapid-prototyped
AleksaHeler/OpenHand	11	STM32-based hand with EMG control
joelgibbard/Open-Hand-Project	6	Accessible prosthetic hand project
ashpande/ProstheticHand	11	Affordable modular myoelectric arm
Saurabhpethkar/Affordable-Myoelectric-Prosthetic-Arm	2	EMG-controlled 3D-printed arm
UNC-Helping-Hand-Project/OpenSCAD-Auto-Hand	2	Automated customization with OpenSCAD
PrecisionProsthetics/Limbs	0	3D printing prosthetics hub
rizaaria/EMG-Based-Prosthetic-Arm-Control-System	—	Low-cost EMG control system

Proposed Action Items for Design Refinement Discussion

1. Socket & Fitting Interface — The most critical area for community-fitting events. We need to discuss modular, adjustable socket designs compatible with open-source limb projects.
2. EMG Control Integration — How to standardize EMG sensor placement and calibration for various prosthetic designs.
3. 3D Printing & Material Standards — Shared filament/material specifications for durability and comfort in prosthetic components.
4. Volunteer Training Protocols — Standardized fitting and adjustment procedures for non-expert volunteers.
5. Community Feedback Loop — Iterative design improvements based on fitting event outcomes.

Next Steps

• Engineers: Please share your current project status and challenges with fitting/socket design.
• Volunteers: Confirm availability for the community fitting event.
• We propose a design workshop to align on standards and identify contribution areas.

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This initiative is coordinated by the community prosthetic fitting team. For questions or to volunteer, please reply to this issue.