Product Design

Tom Whitfield

Hi, I’m a final year product design student studying at Technology University Dublin. I’ve always had a creative, solution orientated mind to design things to help myself, and others. Throughout my four years of study, I have specialized in developing products which cater to users' needs in the medical device sector. During my third year of my degree, for example, I developed a device to improve the fit of masks for sleep apnea patients. 

My ethos focuses on iterative prototyping and user feedback to give users truly what they need. Throughout my career, I am seeking to apply my experience in user centered design into the medical device industry. 

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It is estimated that 57.7 million people are living worldwide with traumatic lower limb amputations. More than 40% of the 57.7 million people have had trans tibial amputations. (McDonald et al., 2021) The residual limbs volume can fluctuate between ±7% per day (Seo et al., 2021) Adjustable sockets have been developed to address this issue however users have reported problems with these systems leading to limb damage due to overtightening of the socket interface exacerbating the healthcare burdens on an aging population. (Baldock et al., 2023a) (McDonald et al., 2021) 

The proposed solution is an adjustable socket which incorporates a torque limiting mechanism preventing the user from overtightening the socket interface, decreasing the probability of socket related limb damage. 

This solution will reduce the number of patients with socket related injuries addressing a cause of prosthetic abandonment, enhancing patient quality of life allowing them to regain mobility and independence.