Sandro Mihradi
According to data from the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, there are 3,000,000 people with physical disabilities in the Republic of Indonesia. Of the total number of people with physical disabilities in the Republic of Indonesia, 80,000 people have above-the-knee amputations, and it is estimated that 900 above-knee amputation victims increase every year. By finding solutions for people with foot disabilities, significant social return on investment (SROI) will be generated, but what is more important is that people with disabilities can live relatively normal lives.
Currently the FTMD ITB Biomechanics research team is collaborating with the University of Melbourne (Prof. Peter Lee, Mechanical Engineering Department) in further development Pressure Cast Socket ;(PCast), a procedure for making a prosthetic socket mold by utilizing water pressure in a cylindrical tank that is pressed using the weight of an amputee patient. By having more even pressure on the residual limb, the plaster molding of the residual limb can be done more effectively and consistently, thereby minimizing dependence on the skill and experience of a prosthetist. This method has been proven to reduce costs and shorten the overall time for making prosthetic sockets, because it no longer requires a rectification process on the resulting positive socket mold. This method has been applied in several countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. In Indonesia, this method has been implemented at the YAKKUM Rehabilitation Center, Yogyakarta, and has been applied to more than 100 leg amputation patients throughout Indonesia.
In 2024 YAKKUM has launched a program to provide prosthetics and orthotics for 1000 people with disabilities, including leg amputations, therefore the use of the PCast tool is expected to become more intensive. In this community service program, system design and manufacturing optimization is carried out. Pressure Cast (Pcast), so that it can answer the needs of the YAKKUM Rehabilitation Center as the user and owner of the program providing prosthetic legs. Through this program, two new PCast units have also been successfully produced which are expected to increase YAKKUM's prosthetic limb production capabilities.
1. Optimizing the design and manufacture of new Pressure Cast (PCast) used to manufacture prosthetic leg sockets at the YAKKUM Rehabilitation Center, Yogyakarta
The existence of PCast will help rehabilitation centers produce prosthetic leg sockets with good quality consistently and in a shorter time. PCast will also minimize reliance on the skills and experience of a prosthetist in making prosthetic socket molds.