3D Printed Hand

Father uses a 3D printer to make his son a new hand...

Paul McCarthy, from Marblehead Massachusetts, made the inexpensive yet functional prosthetic hand for his son Leon, who was born without fingers on one of his hands. Two years ago he began searching for a way to help is son whose hand did not grow due to restricted blood flow in the womb.

Leon admitted at first he thought that the idea was 'crazy' but once it was assembled he said the hand was 'awesome'. Leon's new hand gives him the ability to carry out tasks such as picking up a water bottle and riding a bike.

The design relies on wrist movement - the downward motion creates cable tension which closes the fingers while a move upwards opens them. McCarthy borrowed a friend's 3D printer, and in a month figured out how to string, screw and bolt together what him and his son describe as the 'Frankenstein' version.

"This thing costs us $5-$10, it was nothing," said Mr McCarthy. He said a prosthesis would have cost the family in upwards of $30,000. The cost allows the pair to experiment with different designs and change the prosthetic as Leon grows.

Matthew Garibaldi, director of orthotics and prosthetics in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, says that making sure a prosthetic device fits is essential for it to work well, reports NPR. He said because there are not many children with upper-extremity amputations there are limited options for pediatric prosthetics and that is why a device like Robohand is so appealing. "Its primary function is to decrease manufacturing costs and increase productivity. The timeliness of this technology couldn't be better," Mr Garibaldi said.