Breast Prosthesis

A doctor, who I knew from my previous workplace, reached out to me asking for help with developing an affordable custom-made breast prosthesis for her patients who undergo a mastectomy. The unaffordability of reconstruction or custom prosthesis made these women fill their blouses with cotton balls or badly tailored cotton pouches. This adversely affected their body image, social interactions, and identity – especially among rural women. We discussed various options for making custom prosthesis accessible and affordable. I used photogrammetry and reference images to reconstruct a digital model of a breast for women who had undergone unilateral mastectomy. Subsequently, I mirrored the model and FDM-printed mold for casting medical grade silicone.
The first prototype was created for a 56-year old patient. After a few days of use, she shared her feedback and complained that she found it heavy, non-conforming to the body, and uncomfortable. We are currently working on the second iteration with a foam core to reduce the weight, and cotton-silicone padding to better conform to the chest.
About
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We worked with Electric Vehicle manufacturers to repurpose their batteries for rural nano grids. Commercialising second-life batteries help OEMs recover recycling costs for these batteries.
During the process, I tackled a number of challenges with the design, like:
· Ease of assembly and use;
· Modularity
· Recyclability at end-of-life
Goal was to build affordable, and simple-to-manufacture system without compromising its aesthetics, and use standard parts that are repairable and recyclable. By these products we aim to be a major contributor in recovering maximum value for batteries and help make the battery ecosystem truly circular.
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