Adaptive Cutting Device
By: Max Rybold, Kenneth Chan, Omar Jarrad
Department: Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. George Anwar
Our design proposal is to provide a cutting tool to people with type 2 and type 3A Thumb hypoplasia or to unfortunate individuals that had their thumb amputated (by some means). Almost all manual handheld cutting devices operate through the muscles of the thumb and index finger. This constraint limits individuals without thumbs. Hence our design proposal is for such individuals, which instead would singularly use the contraction of their palmar interossei muscles (or more specifically their second and third dorsal interosseous muscles, it being the middle finger). With these being the active muscles involved, our device is held between the index, ring, and little fingers while the middle finger linearly controls the action of cutting. Our project is purely mechanical, and it converts linear to semicircular motion through a horizontal slot. This slot has a dimple that allows the handler to slide it towards them. This induces the open blades to fully collapse at the endpoint of the slot.