The Central Saint Martins graduate tells dezeen she hopes the BioProsthesis project helps participating patients mentally recover after traumatizing treatments and mastectomy. “This process enables the patient to regain a sense of wholeness, with the keratin used in the prosthesis serving as a replacement for the loss of their breast, symbolically reuniting the first loss of hair with the body in the form of a prosthesis and facilitating the acceptance process and psychological healing,” Pezzano said.
The prototypes, which serve as Pezzano’s Material Futures Master’s thesis, use the individual’s own hair and are meticulously matched to the patient’s skin tone. The keratin is converted into electrospun fibers, which are known for their high surface-area-to-volume ratio, porosity, and structural alignment. Such fibers are often used in medical applications, including tissue engineering.
“Taking advantage of keratin biocompatibility allows me to achieve a circularity process – taking from our body to give back to our body, helping a healing process,” added Pezzano.