1. Talon Prosthetic Knee

• Introducing Talon by NWU Eagles, a revolutionary leap forward in affordable prosthetic technology, meticulously designed with the unique needs of the African continent at heart. Developed by a dedicated team of innovators at North-West University, Potchefstroom, Talon embodies our commitment to accessibility, reliability, and practicality in mobility solutions.
• Affordability is at the core of our mission. We believe that quality healthcare solutions should not be a privilege, but a right accessible to all. Talon ensures that individuals and communities, even in the most resource-limited settings, can afford a state-of-the-art prosthetic leg. This commitment to affordability does not mean a compromise on quality. Talon is built with high-grade materials that are both cost-effective and long-lasting, ensuring that users receive the best possible value.
• The NWU Eagles team has collaborated closely with local communities, healthcare professionals, and users throughout the design process, ensuring that Talon meets the real-world needs of its wearers. This collaborative approach has enabled us to tailor Talon specifically to the unique environmental, cultural, and practical requirements of the African continent.

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2. Prosthetic Foot

This project entails the design of a prosthetic dynamic response foot with adjustable stiffness. Currently, on-the-market feet are expensive and lack the ability to adjust the foot’s stiffness and energy return, limiting the user’s comfort during certain activities. With a foot like described, a user would only require one prosthetic foot, cutting down on the cost of the prosthetic foot solution they require. A need exists for an adjustable, affordable prosthetic foot.

3. Cost-effective hydraulic knee

Advanced knee prostheses with good functionality that allow the user to walk at different speeds as well as navigate daily obstacles are very expensive. This project aims to design a cost-effective alternative with the same capabilities as the more expensive options.

4. Development of a cost-effective prosthetic hand with myoelectric control

There is a rising demand for affordable prosthetic upper limbs (hands) with high usability. Utilising biomimetics and advanced control systems, the design offers 14 degrees of freedom for enhanced accessibility, and functionality, with fully articulated thumb and wrist movements. It is aimed to combine these features with myoelectric control, in a system that is cost-effective in terms of initial cost and future maintenance.

5. Cybathlon Wheelchair

The Cybathlon wheelchair race was started in 2013 with the intention of reducing the limitations paraplegics experience in their daily lives through the application of novel assistive technologies. The aim of the Cybathlon is to encourage the competitive design of these technologies by measuring their efficacy through a time trial-styled obstacle course. To develop a competitive solution, a platform that will streamline the design, implementation, and testing of various obstacle-clearing wheelchair designs by emulating the physical profiles of each obstacle is needed.

6. Prosthetic Ankle

Biological human feet have an array of important functions that help stabilize and propel a human forward during walking. While prosthetics that mimic the motion of human feet exist, they are very expensive and unaffordable to many people living in African countries. This project aims to emulate the behaviour of a natural foot, while being cost-effective. So that prosthetics can improve the quality of life of people who need them, without spending an arm and a leg.