I've been following the story and it's absolutely amazing what Professor Flood managed to come up with along with his co-workers and others who travel in his circle. The hand is a result of an integration of the latest digital printing technologies and file sharing among some really talented Makers, along with good old fashioned Yankee ingenuity and hand skills.
The hand in the photograph is basically just a prototype but she's picking things up for the first time in her life. This thing went together in a very short time frame, by the way. If you neglect all the "think time" that went into this, you could knock out a hand like this in just a few hours of printing and assembling time, with very little cost involved. Just think of all the possibilities. The patient wouldn't even have to be geographically close by. Order a cast kit, make the cast, send it in and you're prosthetic device will be sent to you by return mail. As the young lady grows, it'll be easy enough to scale up, as well. Very impressive.
Well done to all involved.
4 comments:
Thanks for posting this and spreading the word, Shop Teacher Bob. We're hoping that anyone interested in receiving a hand will be able to get one. It's amazing what can happen when people are willing to share information; so thanks for helping us to pass this along so people become aware of the possibilities.
Sure thing - it's the least I can do.
One thing I didn't comment on but noticed throughout the development is the role your artistic background played, both in the engineering and in the aesthetics. Seems like it really helped speed the development as well as adding to the "humanity" of the project, if you know what I mean. Something to think about when they talk about cutting art programs.
Again, well done all. Very impressive.
Very nice! I'm a Tech Ed teacher in Bristol, VA and we are partnering with a local prosthetics clinic to try and get some of these 3D printable hands and fingers to the folks who need them in the community. My class has a 3D printer. We just need some training on how to put the hands together. Do you know anyone who'd be willing to help us? I wouldn't mind driving 5-6 hours if I need to! Thank you! Please respond to debrowning@bvps.org.
I forwarded your comment to Frankie Flood at Handverker: http://frankieflood.blogspot.com/. He's the main man on this thing. I just had the privilege of passing the news along. I hope you're successful in your endeavors. This could help a lot of people.
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