Improvement of 3D-printed Prostheses Design and Development of Home-based Training Module via Participatory Research Design: A Report on a Comprehensive Study Protocol.

Introduction: A prosthetic limb technology has grown tremendously in the past few years, offering hope for increased functioning and better quality of life to people with upper limb amputation. However, the phenomenon of prosthetic rejection remains a challenge, particularly among paediatric users because of the prosthesis-related factors in functionality and appearance as well as the training and prosthetics services. Aim: One solution is to involve an Occupational therapist (OT), engineer (3D printed prosthesis expert), prosthesis user (experienced child), and their parent in designing the prosthesis. However, these collaborations have not been implemented as intended in the engineering field. Hence, this current study aimed to report on a comprehensive study protocol based on 3-corner collaborative design in order to develop and improve three-dimensional (3D) printed upper limb prosthesis design and a home-based self-care training module. Methods: The 3D upper limb prosthesis and training module was designed using a 3-corner collaborative design (participatory design approach). The participatory design process (involved experienced children with transradial deficiency; parent; OT and engineer) and data collection techniques included semi-structured interviews, participant observation, the Delphi technique, and face-to-face discussion. Discussion: The 3-corner collaborative design (participatory design approach) process helped us design an interactive platform to design a new 3D printed upper limb prosthesis features such as sizes, weight, control, and obtaining information on training that possible to manufacture tailor-made, customized, and personalized parts according to the users' deficiency; making them more suitable for the development of prostheses for each user, which must be customized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]