Prosthetic limbs must be removed before showering. This presents an obvious problem, as the wearer is now in a slippery situation with only one leg to stand on. Seattle-based industrial designer Harry Teng decided to tackle this.
Teng designed Lytra, “the one and only affordable prosthetic leg designed to allow for below-the-knee amputees to take showers safely and maintain residual limb hygiene.”
Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.
“The open bottom design allows easy washing and drying. The socket comes with XS, S, M, L and XL. It has a silicone gel bottom to provide a soft and comfortable support to the residual limb. It is interchangeable for hygienic purposes.”
“The flexible foot allows amputees to move more naturally in the bathroom. The slip-resistant rubber outsole is textured in a pattern to provide a strong grip against the floor and to prevent hydroplaning.”
Lytra was named a runner-up for the James Dyson Award, but didn’t stop there. His Lytra 2.0 pushes the concept further, aiming to accommodate a wider variety of below-the-knee amputations.
Ultimately, two different variants were designed, with different cups and handle placements.
Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.
The goal, Teng says, is “pushing the concept to a market-ready product.” It’s worth noting that Teng is not being paid to undertake this project, and does not have the backing of an ID firm to help him build these prototypes. Teng works at Microsoft doing ID for the Surface Design team, and is working on Lytra in his spare time purely because he sees the need.
Source: core77