A group of URI engineering students and their counterparts from an institution in Colombia, recently presented their prototypes for prosthetic arms and hands to be used by amputees in the South American nation.
Each prosthetic limb will last an average of two to five years, and will be personalized to the needs of its user, both aesthetically and functionality.
The four URI students working on the project are James Gannon of Coventry, Christian Witcher of North Smithfield, Laura Parra of Pawtucket, and Corvah Akoiwala of Providence. Gannon, Witcher, and Parra are in URI’s Spanish International Engineering Program (IEP).
Next month, the four engineering students, Silke Scholz, director of the Spanish International Engineering Program, and graduate student Joshua Gyllinsky will travel to Colombia to continue work on the prostheses.