The Story of Sol Smith

This session tells the story of how a father's love is changing the lives of thousands. My son, Sol, sadly lost most of his left arm following an injury at birth. As a former psychology teacher, I knew that waiting 12 months for an NHS prosthetic was not an option. After achieving good results with foam arms from when Sol was 5 weeks of age, I went on to invent a new kind of prosthetic that is inspired by how spiders use fluid pressure to move their limbs. I founded Ambionics to develop the technology and help other children around the world. This session will touch on some technology (e.g., teaching myself CAD design using Fusion 360 and YouTube tutorials) and footage of some of the early prototypes made from off-the-shelf parts. I will talk about some of the difficulties of learning to make prosthetics for a growing child and the importance of staying close to the medical standard (e.g. the creation of digital prosthetic sockets) and of course how the hydraulics are developing, and more.