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Hale Burke is an undergraduate student in Mechanical Engineering. She interned at during summer 2024.

Hale Burke and fellow intern Zoe Struk

Where did you intern over the summer and what was exciting for you about that opportunity? 

I was a Research and Development (R&D) Intern at Point Designs, manufacturing functional, highly durable prosthetic digits for people with partial hand amputations and presentations. This was an incredibly exciting opportunity for me because it gave me the chance to work in the prosthetics industry, a dream I’ve had for several years. I didn’t know much about partial hand prosthetics before this internship. However, now that I have gotten to design a digit myself, I have a deep interest and respect for this field. 

What kinds of projects have you had a chance to work on over the summer?

This summer I was working on the design and development of a partial hand immediate post-operative prosthetic (IPOP) terminal device, specifically for a finger. IPOPs are short-term transitional devices that are ideally implemented into treatment within the first 30 days post-amputation. They traditionally feature lightweight sockets with minimally functional terminal devices to help patients adjust to using a prosthetic as soon as possible. They have been shown to reduce rates of prosthetic rejection, assist with the psychological distress of limb loss and greatly improve the lives of patients long-term. 

Point Digit partial hand prosthetic image courtesy of Point Designs.

The device I designed is a passive positional prosthetic digit that can attach to a diagnostic socket using a curved interface at the bottom of the metacarpophalangeal joint. Its main purpose is to help patients reach their individual occupational therapy goals within the first few months following surgery.

Was there a particular challenge you encountered that really pushed you to learn something new?

During this internship, I had the opportunity to travel to the Amputation Rehabilitation Medicine & Surgery (ARMS) clinic in New Jersey to observe patient-clinician interactions at various stages post-operation. The main goal for this trip was to learn more about user needs and design considerations for the IPOP device. Working with an interdisciplinary team was super interesting, but presented challenges due to differences in how each group thinks about design. I had to learn how to take what I gathered from my conversations with hand surgeons, prosthetists and occupational therapists and turn them into design requirements for the device even when not provided with exact values to design for (weight, level of functionality, how much force the device can withstand, etc.).

What was it like to work at a startup? Were there any unique challenges or opportunities that came with being part of a new company?

I really enjoyed working at a startup. I had the opportunity to work on my own project and had the resources to prototype several iterations, try out different hardware and physically test my design. Due to the small size of the company, I was able to get regular, in-depth feedback on my work from my co-workers and quickly implement changes. Working at a startup also meant I got to meet and work with teams outside of the R&D space such as production and marketing. I found I was also able to form much deeper relationships with my co-workers than I would have been able to at a larger company because of how closely we worked together. I would love to work at a startup or small company again. 

What advice do you have for other students interested in pursuing a similar opportunity?

My advice would be to go for it! Go out of your comfort zone and actively challenge yourself; that's where growth happens. I really enjoyed my experience at a startup because it allowed me to see so many aspects of a professional R&D engineering job. I learned about project management, production/product assembly, manufacturing processes, product development, design, rapid and professional prototyping, computational and numerical optimization, interdisciplinary communication and so much more. Additionally, I made so many meaningful connections with my coworkers because of how interconnected everyone was due to the small size of the company. You get out of this experience what you put in, so be willing to learn, grow and ask for help!