How one UP senior is getting first hand biomedical experience creating a prosthetic

“Essentially [the concept] is like a baseball cap that you wear connecting to your prosthetic hand,” Catelani said. “That is reading the commands that your brain is sending out and then shooting it into the hand so that it can move and function just like a normal one would.”

Using the Donald’s Garage Maker Space’s resources, Catelani’s project is an over year-long journey spent drawing, virtually designing and 3D printing a prosthetic hand. The hand is created by the Maker Space’s 3D printer using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a thermoplastic, and a fishing line for the hand’s tendons. 

Catelani says his prosthetic bridges biology with engineering and is inspired by his interest in making healthcare more accessible. Once he graduates, he wants to create YouTube videos documenting his final prosthetic model. 

Though his background is in engineering, Catelani says his sister, a 2021 graduate of UP’s School of Nursing & Health Innovations, inspired his healthcare-based project.

“Healthcare is expensive and not entirely accessible to the people that need it the most,” Catelani said. “That's what this research is kind of dedicated towards, [it’s] reducing the financial gate that is put up there, and also the impact on the environment that it has.”

Catelani is currently working on a controller to move the prosthetic, as well as redesigning the hand to make it stronger — spending anywhere from six to 12 hours, or more, a week on the prosthetic. 

For the redesign, Catelani spent his winter break testing what the prosthetic could handle by smashing the prosthetic’s fingers under different weights. All the information will be used to formulate how he can talk about his project with others.

“Telling someone, ‘Oh, this product can withstand 10 newtons of force’ isn't as valuable as saying, ‘Oh, this product can get run over by a train,’” Catelani said. “Those are two completely different statements, but one is a lot more simple to palate than the other.”

Redesigning the prosthetic is about tapping into his engineering education. But bridging his studies with biomedicine also means he often reaches out to his peers for help filling in knowledge gaps.

Skyler Asher, a senior mechanical engineering major and assistant at the Donald’s Garage Maker Space, has stories of Catelani coming into the Maker Space looking for advice on his prosthetic. 

“Sometimes, I’ll see him just go sit down and lock in for like 30 minutes silently and then come back with something that’s going to work,” Asher said. “He comes in with an idea of exactly what he wants to do, but he’s open to feedback about how to change that to make it more manufacturable.”

While Catelani uses the Maker Space frequently for the prosthetic, he also works from home. His housemate, senior Biology major Moe Ombougno, says Catelani is excited to share his progress with the house.

“[Catelani said] ‘Guys, I've made the thumb for my prosthetic hand,’” Ombougno said. “And we're all like, ‘Ooh.’ And he just shows it around. It's like a show and tell, but it's… way more impressive because… he made it.”

As Catelani shares his progress with those around him, he reflects on the project’s impact as an engineering student and feels confident in his skills. 

He adds that learning about prosthetics allows him to find comfort in the unknown, encouraging him to learn more about biomedical accessibility. 

“As much as I would like to tell people that I know exactly what I'm doing all the time… I do tell people that sometimes I really don't [know],” Catelani said.  “A big part of this project is me just learning things.” 

Camille Kuroiwa-Lewis is the Living Editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at kuroiwal26@up.edu.

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