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SUMMARY:From craft to mass production? Design\, manufacture and patents fo
 r artificial limbs\, 1890–1925 - Julie Anderson (University of Kent)
DTSTART:20150305T153000Z
DTEND:20150305T170000Z
UID:TALK57278@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Richard Staley
DESCRIPTION:Nineteenth-century artificial limb design and production was a
  craft based industry. A single prosthesis – a complex construction of w
 ood\, leather and fabric – often took longer than six weeks to produce\,
  and each one was individually designed and made for the wearer. The medic
 al profession distanced itself from this work\; instead limb makers and fi
 tters took out patents on components and developed new technology to impro
 ve the limb's function. The First World War altered this process. As the n
 eed for limbs increased with the growing number of amputee soldiers\, meth
 ods of mass production and standardisation were employed. Yet while the Mi
 nistry of Pensions sought standard limbs\, the competition between the 22 
 manufacturers it contracted to provide them created distinct complications
 \, as designs\, methods of attachment\, and intricate internal machinery w
 ere patented. Using a range of sources\, including medical manufacturers' 
 catalogues and limb fitters' promotional material\, this paper will assess
  the changing environment of artificial limb production from the late 19th
  century to the period following the First World War\, focusing on the imp
 act of the Ministry of Pensions' interventions on the design\, production 
 and patenting process.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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