GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Under the provisions of the regulations for the degree
MASTER OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
on
Thursday, April 24, 2025
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST
Price Gilbert 4222
Constance Norris Squirrell
will present a thesis defense entitled,
"Co-Designing Customizable 3D-Printed Hand Grips for Aging Populations with Arthritis"
Advisor:
Dr. Leila Aflatoony, Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design
Committee:
Dr. Eunsook Kwon, Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design
Yousef Bushehri, Georgia Tech School of Architecture
Faculty and students are invited to attend this presentation.
Abstract
Commercially available assistive devices often fail to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities, necessitating customization. Occupational therapists (OTs) and other clinicians frequently resort to DIY processes to adapt these devices, despite their limited expertise in product design. However, the manual creation of assistive devices is time-intensive, lacks standardization and scalability, and often results in suboptimal functionality, ergonomics, and durability.
This project addresses these barriers by proposing a customizable hand-grip assistive device tailored to aging populations with mild arthritis-related impairments. Through a series of co-design workshops with OTs, an adaptable 3D model was developed, enabling therapists to modify hand-grip designs to align with individual anthropometric measurements. The finalized models can be fabricated using fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing, bridging the gap between therapeutic expertise and accessible manufacturing technologies.”.
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