our mission.

2ft Prosthetics helps restore dignity and self-confidence to under-served amputees in developing countries through the production and distribution of quality and affordable leg prostheses and supporting prosthetic clinics.

Prosthetic designs

​The PVC leg
Our original design, developed by a team of engineering students at BYU, is a simple foot made of PVC pipe with a polypropylene socket. The total material cost for the device is under $25. Only a saw, scissors, an oven or fire, and a drill are needed to manufacture the PVC leg. Materials for this leg are available locally. The skills required to manufacture and fit this PVC leg are simple and can be taught to local citizens. The design can be easily customized according to the amputee’s need.  This device is undergoing beta-testing to ensure durability.

Other Designs
We are currently working on developing components that would enable a low-cost prosthetic leg that can be fit with minimal training.  Components that we are working on for this include a low-cost polypropylene foot, an easy-to-customize socket, adapters, etc.

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Prosthetics clinics

Partner Clinics
In some country, such as the Dominican Republic, there are already existing clinics.  It is pivotal that our work does not upset the local economy by putting local competing prosthetic clinics out of business. Thus, we only serve amputees who are not serviced by government healthcare programs or private insurance and cannot afford a locally-sourced prosthetic leg.

In many countries, there currently are not prosthetic clinics. In countries like this, amputees either must travel to another country to receive a prosthetic leg or do not receive one.  

Tonga is an example of this.  Prior to our visits in Tonga, most Tongan amputees did not have prosthetic legs.  A select few were able to obtain prosthetic legs by traveling to Australia or the United States and paying out of pocket for a prosthetic leg.   The travel costs and prosthetic costs make this approach prohibitively expensive to most Tongan amputees.

If you are a clinic who would like to partner with us, please contact us.

PERFORMANCE AND DURABILITY OF LEG
The Testing Fixture designed and built by the 2ft Prosthetics team is pictured below.

How it Works:
Two pneumatic pistons push the foot under the toe and heel, simulating a walking motion. A web cam measures the deflection of the foot on each step, as well as exactly when and how it begins to fail. The testing fixture has been extremely useful in helping us 1) quantify the durability of our current design and 2) test new designs.

Our team is dedicated to research and development that will enable us to produce ever better and more practical designs. Our goal is to empower amputees in developing countries by establishing self-sustaining prosthetic clinics. We train local doctors and prosthetists to fit and produce simple leg designs, and provide them with the materials they need to get started.

Patent

A utility patent application was filed November 5, 2010 for the 2ft Prosthetics PVC Prosthetic Leg design. The patent, US8413313,  was issued on December 18, 2012.