The challenge
Thousands of children without limbs worldwide do not have access to appropriate prosthetics.
The solution
New research into response to amputation, and the development of low-cost, life-saving and life-enhancing solutions.
The impact
Culturally and locally appropriate assistive technologies allow children to live full and dignified lives.
Children living in conflict zones are at risk of life-changing injuries. However, despite their vulnerability, there is a knowledge gap in how children respond to blast and conflict injuries, as well as a lack of access to sustainable and appropriate prosthetics.
In 2022, the Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies was launched at Imperial College London. Collaborating with institutions in the UK, Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa, the Centre has a three-pronged strategy: to collate and share knowledge about treating children; to identify and fill gaps in current research; and to put their research into action.
An urgent need for life-saving interventions
The Imperial Centre, the first of its kind in the world, is led by Professor Anthony Bull. “Children are not small adults. They are different physiologically and anatomically, but children with conflict injuries are not part of the medical curriculum in most countries. Generally, when war happens, people are having to learn on the kids they’re treating, and many die as a result of injuries when they could potentially have been saved.”
Local, affordable solutions
Unlike adults, children need to regularly change their prosthetics as they grow. However, a lack of resources means that these young people cannot access the assistive technology that would allow them to lead a full and dignified life. The Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies is working on adjustable sockets that will cope with the rapid change in children’s limbs and socket sizes. The partnership has also begun trials for small-sized knee joints, called ‘MiKnee’ and ‘TiKnee’, with the prospect of global low-cost local manufacturing.
Sharing research and information
Access to information is crucial in real-world, blast injury situations, such as conflict zones. The Paediatric Blast Injury Field Manual is a free online and print resource, produced by the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership (formed in 2018 and the forerunner to the Centre), that is now in use worldwide. Meanwhile, researchers are working with Çukurova University in Adana, Türkiye, to understand the long-term effects of traumatic injury amputation and recovery. The findings gathered from following 530 child amputees who lost limbs in the 2023 Türkiye earthquake will inform surgery and best practice in the future, and fill gaps in clinicians’ understanding.
The Global Development Hub published a STEM for Development Impact Memo on the work. You can read the memo here.