CDT PGRs
Nicolaas Pickard: The design, evaluation and application of methods for measuring upper limb prosthetic socket coupling.
The study further develops methods for assessing upper limb socket-limb coupling, and will explore the impact of socket adjustability on socket function and comfort. Supervisory Team: Prof Laurence Kenney and Dr Vikranth Nagaraja.
Lesley Davidson: Access to prosthesis repairs/maintenance and impacts on activity, psychological wellbeing and embodiment.
Levels of dissatisfaction and outright rejection of upper limb prostheses remain stubbornly high, despite decades of R&D effort. The role that access to prosthesis repairs and maintenance guidance/advice may play in user (dis)satisfaction/rejection is being explored, using a number of different approaches. Supervisory Team: Prof Laurence Kenney and Dr Adam Galpin. (External advisor: Dr Maggie Donovan-Hall and Dr Alix Chadwell, University of Southampton).
Paddy Townsend: Novel affordable light-weight underactuated biomimetic multi-DOF prosthetic hands.
A consistently reported concern raised by users is the weight of powered prostheses. In this PhD theoretical and experimental approaches will be applied to better understand the mechanism requirements. Novel solutions for multi-DOF prosthetic hands which can be operated with the minimum number of actuators will be developed. Supervisory Team: Dr Guowu Wei and Prof Laurence Kenney.
Mike Baldock: Evaluating the functional properties of patient adjustable lower-limb prostheses: developing a novel residuum-socket interface model.
Using developed motion capture and finite element methods, adjustable socket designs will be evaluated across coupling, comfort, and user stability to explore the influence key interface properties have on performance. Supervisory Team: Dr Samantha Curtin and Dr Vikranth Nagaraja (External Advisor: Dr Niamh Gill, English Institute of Sport).
Matt Wassall: K-level classification through real-world assessment of lower limb amputees.
This PhD develops a sensor-based system to classify real-world activities that will help clinicians objectively prescribe lower limb prosthetic components to patients. Supervisory Team: Dr. Sibylle Thies and Prof Malcolm Granat (External Advisor: Sir Saeed Zahedi Kt OBE).
Helen Locke: The role and design of objects and environments in the lives of upper-limb prosthesis users.
The proposed research aims to employ a range of observational and qualitative methods to assess how prosthesis users interact with real-world environments and objects. The information gained will be used to facilitate participatory design activities focused on the design of objects and environments. Supervisory Team: Dr Adam Galpin and Prof Laurence Kenney. (External advisor: Dr Maggie Donovan-Hall, University of Southampton).