Nama :Afiful Milah

NIM :2109948
Kelas :3B

One in seven people around the world has some kind of disability// Being born without my right
hand has defined who I am over the past 30 years// I was fortunate to grow [up] in the sacred
valley of the Incas in Cusco/ Peru/ surrounded by people who weren't surprised to see me driving
my bike or probably playing basketball// When I was seven/ I remember being stunned after I
watched "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back/" when Luke's hand gets cut off/ the same one I
didn't have// But then/ being twice as stunned when the medical robots fitted him with a
prosthesis that could move and feel// From then on/ no greater purpose lived in my mind/ which
was to have a prosthesis like Luke Skywalker//
This dream led me to study mechatronics engineering and access the Biomechanics and Applied
Robotics Laboratory in Pontifical Catholic University of Peru/ where/ with a multidisciplinary
team/ we developed a myoelectric prosthesis for a long transradial amputation/ being me/ the
pilot user// I was able to move each finger individually// And also we developed a way in which
we get to pass the sensation from the fingertips into my forearm using haptic feedback system//
Since this was a research project/ we had enough funding to buy stuff from abroad// So/ for
example/ the motors you get to see here/ were all brought [from] Switzerland// This is one of the
main reasons why it will cost at least 40/000 dollars to make this prosthesis// But 40K is way too
much/ considering that four out of five people with upper limb amputation live in developing
countries// Even the 25/000 dollars that cost a robotic prosthesis imported from abroad is way too
much// In Peru/ that is equivalent to work full time on a minimum wage for almost seven years/
just to buy the prostheses// Never mind pay for your food or your house// It is often that people
get injured while doing manual labor activities like farming or metal manufacturing// Getting
back to work and having access to money demands a functional hand//
It took me time to realize what a huge privilege I had to study a career that would help fulfill my
dreams// But actually/ what was preventing me from developing a solution that was both
affordable and functional// The very first step in order to reducing the cost was to reduce the
number of motors because they were all imported and therefore expensive// So we get to arrange
occupational focus groups with our amputee volunteers in order to identify which gestures they
will use the most/ and of those/ how many we could perform using just a single motor// The
answer was three: pinch/ cylindrical and lateral// This also helps us to reduce the number of
electromyography sensors/ too/ from an arrangement of eight/ we passed just to one// In this
way/ between makes in mechanical and myoelectric prosthesis/ the prices will be dramatically
low//
But material prices matter to// And that's why we choose to 3D print our prosthesis using mainly
plastic from recycled bottles// Like the prosthesis I am wearing right now//
(Applause)
In order to develop our prosthesis/ the process will go like this// First/ we'll use our 3D scan and
our own parametrization software in order to take the measures of the amputated area and the
other hand of the user// Then we'll recreate the entire set of fingers/ the palm and the prosthesis
socket in our computational model to finally 3D print each of those parts// So far in LAT
Bionics/ we have two types of prosthesis// Maki/ which is a mechanical activation and Pisko/
with electronic activation// Pisko cost just 10 percent of an imported robotic prosthesis that will
come from abroad// This means that even more working-class people can access our
technology// For me/ this has been a path where I was able to develop this in my company LAT
Bionics// So/ for example/ take Franco/ [who] now is using his transradial Maki prostheses in
order to get back to work with his providers on the jungle farm he has//
I am certain that we are able to be on the side with technology that is brought from abroad to our
region being sold in a very expensive way// We have the capacity to develop our own
technology/ having the necessities of our people in mind// So then people with disabilities and
limited resources could live a life again// For me/ when people/ our users/ get back to work on
their places/ that look of compassion changed to astonishment// The same astonishment which I
had when I saw Luke Skywalker prosthesis//
So this began as a path for myself/ but it now belongs to my entire region// Would you like to
join us?
Thank you so much//