Unit 3f – 3D-printed prosthetic limbs
Part 1
For a girl with no hands, her dexterity is remarkable – her drawing skills on a par with other kids her age.
Charlotte lost both hands and both legs to meningococcal septicaemia. But hers is not the sad story you
might expect.
Mother: I think some people are surprised when they see her, like, how mobile she is, and how she can write
and draw and … you know, her sort of, the fine motor skills she’s still got, even without her hands. You
know, even though, like I said she’s so independent and so able, she does need help with things.
Charlotte: I do not.
Interviewer: You don’t need help?
Charlotte: Definitely not. This one is my old leg.
Charlotte shows me the false limbs she’s had so far. Prosthetic legs – basic, yet do the job, but for hands it’s
not so simple.
Interviewer: Does it go on this arm or this arm?’ ‘That one.’ ‘That arm. And then this goes around the back.’
This crude hook will be little use as she grows up and has to fend for herself. Though anything more
sophisticated costs the earth.
Mother: An adult bionic hand was £40,000 for one hand.
And at the rate children grow, she’d need a new, bigger one every year.
Part 2
But this could be the answer. And at a target price of £1,200, it’s within range of normal families.
Joel: If I flex my muscles, the hand in response will open and close all of the fingers.
First a 3D scan is made using a tablet computer. Then a 3D printer constructs it bit by bit. For the first time
these techniques are being combined to custom-build a robotic hand.
Joel: At the moment, children are a bit under-served by the prosthetics industry, in the realms of robotic
hands, so this project can really help them, because as a child grows, they need to have a new prosthetic
every year or so, ideally, and that’s where the cost component really, really helps out.
