Around 100 million people worldwide need a prosthetic limb to replace an amputated arm or leg, or an orthotic device to support a damaged limb. Yet it’s estimated around 80 per cent of these people don’t have access to these services – and this is a particular issue for low- and middle-income countries.

Southampton researchers are working with clinicians, academics and policymakers in Cambodia to develop digital tools to improve access to prosthetic and orthotic services. The team will also be training clinicians in the use of these digital tools, and undertaking their own research. These results should ensure that funding allocated for prosthetic services is spent more efficiently.

Dr Alex Dickinson, Lecturer in Engineering and Physical Sciences, is leading a multidisciplinary team of engineers and health scientists from Southampton to assess how useful a range of digital technologies could be to prosthetic limb provision in Cambodia.

You can read the rest of this article on University of Southampton’s website here: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2019/01/a-step-change-in-prosthetics.page

University of Southampton is a member of the Exceed Research Network.