Textile and Apparel Science

User Centered Design Study: Improvement for the ‘Figure of 9’ Harness

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Abstract

About 1.7 million people live with a limb loss in the United States (Braza & Martin, 2020). These individuals may be referred to as amputees, and many choose to wear a prosthetic device(s), and many users choose to wear a body-powered prosthesis. Reports show users are unhappy with the appearance and discomfort (overall dissatisfaction) of the prostheses system (Hashim et al., 2017; Huinink et al., 2016). The 'Figure of 9' harness is the most used harness (Gudfinnsdottir, 2013) for unilateral transradial prostheses. However, the 'Figure of 9' harness design has not substantially changed in about 70 years (Pursley, 1955). Additionally, the clothing worn with the 'Figure of 9' harness requires improved attention to meet users' expectations. This study outlined functional, aesthetic, and expressive needs in harnessing systems and related clothing and determined the users' expectations of products associated with their prosthetic device. All results guided the author to create a new adaptive clothing compatible with the new harnessing system.

Keywords: User-centered Design, Adaptive Clothing, Prostheses Harness System, FEA Model

How to Cite:

Eike, R. J. & Jiang, L., (2022) “User Centered Design Study: Improvement for the ‘Figure of 9’ Harness”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 79(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.15794