DYADIC | MAPJD 2016/17 | Projects

Between Hope and Hype: A Study of 3D-printed Prosthesis

Thirty Million individuals worldwide are in need of prosthetic limbs. Ninety percent of those live in developing countries. My photographic project aims to shed light on the discrepancy between the first world’s regulations of prosthetics with that of the developing world’s needs.

At CoRSU, Uganda’s most specialised rehabilitation hospital for orthopaedic and plastic surgery, a 3D printing study has been conducted applying a 3D printed socket to thirty study participants during a month-long trial. Six thousand kilometres away in Germany, patients are not allowed the trial of a newly invented assistive device without the ethics commission approval. Initial trials would then be limited to a controlled environment undergoing strict safety tests.

While researchers in Germany are trying to find an affordable, secure and durable solution to the needs of low-resource countries, the study-participants in Uganda are provided with a conventional prosthesis. It remains their only option for receiving a quality prosthetic device. An estimated cost of two million Ugandan Shilling (UGX) (approximately £400) would not be feasible in this, one of the poorest countries of the world, where the average income is about 303,700 UGX or £62. According to the World Health Organisation, every year 100 million individuals around the world are forced into poverty by the need to pay for health services. Therefore, those with disabilities are more likely to remain disadvantaged and underprivileged.

Joan, 25, lost her leg due to lack of emergency infrastructure after a traffic accident. She had difficulty affording an adequate prosthesis at the national referral hospital. The result was prosthesis not decent enough to walk without crutches.
© 2017 Jelca Kollatsch