We are as used to having our hands as tools as we are used to breathing in air through our lungs. Now, imagine if you’d lost your hand at five. This was the case for a very young Chinese boy from the Wuhan, Hubei Province. If the trauma of falling into a fire pit wasn’t horrific enough, he was terribly injured and also lost his hand in the process.
The 3D printed prosthetic was made through a project supervised by Professor Wei-guo Xei who took careful measurements, recorded data, and oversaw the 3D printing and assembly of the 3D printed hand, which is wrapped in an outer layer of fabric that looks like true skin color.
While it’s not a common occurrence, there are all too many children in the world in need of help via prosthetics after either being born without limbs or losing them due to accidents. We follow many stories of children whose lives are being changed due to the incredible innovations afforded by 3D printing, and mainly within prosthetics this is due to one, customization–and two, affordability. It’s hard to say which outweighs the other, as both are so significant.
The addition of the prosthetic for this young child in China has obviously been hugely successful, if the pictures are any indication. He will continue to acclimate to his prosthetic, and the medical professionals have reminded everyone that the youngster will still need a lot of positive reinforcement regarding the replacement hand as he gets used to it and time passes. Currently, everyone is just very happy to see the return of a little boy’s long-lost smile.
Discuss this remarkable story in the 3D Printed Hand forum thread on 3DPB.com.
[Images: China News Service]