The North-West University (NWU) has started a project that may culminate in the local manufacture of affordable artificial limbs.

The NWU’s Faculty of Engineering, in Potchefstroom, is trying its hand at designing and manufacturing prosthetic limbs, with the aim of selling them at a fraction of the usual price, explains NWU School of Mechanical Engineering lecturer and project manager CP Kloppers.

“Losing a limb is a traumatic experience. It implies astronomical medical bills, and the last thing you would want to worry about is sufficient funds to afford a prosthetic limb.”

The NWU project was the brainchild of a colleague of Kloppers, Danie Vorster.

“I know we have the necessary expertise and, even though we lack experience, it is still worth trying,” notes Vorster.

The project was kickstarted when Kloppers reached out to Theunis Nel, former TV presenter of the motorbike programme Woema. Nel was, in 2014,  involved in a serious motorbike accident in which he lost his right arm.

“Theunis and I sat around a table and discussed our initiative to manufacture prosthetic limbs. He was very positive about it and I immediately offered to build him a prosthetic arm as a pilot project,” explains Kloppers.

Kloppers decided to use the NWU’s R2.5-million three-dimensional (3D) printer to design and build a prosthetic arm that would fit Nel.

“We were able to borrow a prosthetic arm from one of Theunis's friends. He imported it from Canada a few months ago, at a price tag of almost R60 000.

“We examined the arm in our workshop for three months. We reverse-engineered the arm by taking it apart, measuring, drawing and redesigning all the parts. We are still in the process of manufacturing the arm, but it looks like it may be a major success,” says Kloppers.

He says there is strict legislation in place when it comes to the design and manufacturing of prostheses, and that the final product will have to be examined and approved by an orthotist and a prosthetist.

“We have already contacted these specialists, who are keeping a close eye on our design and manufacturing process.”

According to NWU’s planning, the prosthesis should be ready and approved in the second half of the year.

“We have designed and made a prototype from plastic and aluminium, and it works perfectly,” says Kloppers.

“The idea is to manufacture a prosthesis that is suited to the local market. We don’t want to use any electronic components, but rather strong, simple components that will last exceptionally long.”

The NWU School of Mechanical Engineering has already clinched seed funding from the Technology Innovation Agency.

“We are still in the development phase, and will follow this up with an effort to commercialise the product,” says Kloppers.

He believes the project will spend another year in the development phase.