14 DAY TRIAL // Flipper was the name of a particularly popular dolphin, and its name stemmed from the body part that stuck out of its back. The other “arms” and the tail also qualify as flippers though, and a certain woman based her latest creation on that.
The item you can see in the attached image gallery is a prosthetic leg that will give amputees the ability to swim. Or restore it if they were professional or amateur swimmers before losing their limb to an accident or attack by, say, a shark they prodded one too many times.
It will double as an actual leg while you're out of the water, though it won't look like an actual foot. Still, it will let you hold your balance well enough, so it should let you enjoy an outing at the beach or a swimming pool.
Behold the Elle flipper prosthesis
Elle is the brainchild of Della Tosin, a student attending the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, though she is originally from Indonesia.
Her creation is a 3D printed prosthetic device that will not only allow people to swim, but do it at the level of professionals. Provided the rest of their physical condition is up for it anyway. Tosin is a swimmer herself, so she knew how to shape the leg in order for it to do what was needed.
She's still working on commercializing her invention though. While she did already earn a couple of awards, she's aiming for the James Dyson Award before she does anything large scale.
Her plan is for the leg to eventually be made upon order, based on data taken from each customer's body type, height, buoyancy and weight.
The custom leg/flipper would be 3D printed after that, from plastic or something similar, the leg would be covered with carbon fiber, after which the whole thing would be “baked” to make it hard and tough. A silicon fin is attached right at the end, along with a custom-molded socket.
The prosthetic limb should be usable for everything from launching off a platform to flipping and swimming full laps. All the while, extra support would be provided to the thighs and hips, and the vibrations in the upper leg would be lessened thanks to a special fabric that would constrict the muscles.
The adjustable chamber will make sure balance is no issue, since it will fill with air in order to adjust buoyancy for each wearer. Finally, the custom fit vacuum socket should cause zero pain even after wearing the thing for extended periods.
Availability and pricing
Unfortunately, we can't accurately speculate on either and even Tosin doesn't seem to have an exact forecast to share. Still, the Elle isn't likely to just fade into obscurity now that the cat's out of the bag. It can help thousands of people after all.
