Starworks: Innovation in prosthetics for young people

1. Salford - 'Socket Interface'
2. Bristol - 'Upper limb personalisation and adaptation'
3. London - 'Lower limb personalisation and adaptation'
4. Sheffield - 'Service Journeys'

WEach venue will also offer special activities for the child participants to enjoy, so we hope to see you there! 

The aims of these Sandpits will be:

1. To enable all participants to have a greater, more empathic understanding of the issues associated with each theme, from the perspectives of children and families, healthcare professionals, industry experts and academics
2. To generate exciting new technology ideas that might help to overcome these issues, whether this is Digital or Physical, Active or Passive, High or Low Tech, Smart or Dumb. 'Technology' is understood in its broadest sense, and may include (but is not limited to) Virtual, Augmented or Mixed Reality, Sensors, Data, Social and Support Networks, Materials of all kinds, Adaptable Components, 3D Imaging and Adaptive Manufacturing, and so on.
3. To generate teams, collaborations and networks of interest around each idea, who can take them forward and submit proposals to us for Proof-of-Concept funding. 

How to get involved

As these events are based on collaboration between different 'experts' in the child prosthetics community, we hope to create an equal balance between families and professionals from healthcare, academia and industry. Unfortunately, spaces will be limited at each Sandpit, so places cannot be guaranteed. You will be contacted as soon as possible (at least 2 weeks before the event) to let you know if your place has been confirmed. 

Please see our individual event pages for more information on the four challenge areas we hope to address, and to get your Expression of Interest ticket.

For more information on the background of the project, please visit tinyurl.com/NIHRpress, and follow our facebook or twitter accounts to keep updated. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Nat Mills (Nathaniel.Mills@sth.nhs.ac.uk) or Gem Wheeler (G.Wheeler@shu.ac.uk).