3D-printed E-NABLE hand makes 8-year-old 'little cool hand Luke' look awesome

August 28, 2015  19:31

3D-printing has already revolutionized medicine, with the technology providing patients with full skull reconstruction, 3D-printed organs and splints, and reconstructed nose cartilage. The arena of 3D-printing has only been expanding and has become more accessible over the years — to the point where now, many people can 3D-print medical devices from their own homes.

That’s what happened to Luke Dennison, an 8-year-old who was born without fingers in his left hand, the cause of a genetic condition. But as his father says in the video, this hasn’t stopped him from living a normal, happy life — especially since he has the help of a 3D-printed hand from e-NABLE, a digital community of volunteers who 3D-print and build prosthetic hands for children all over the world.

“What originally started out as a couple of guys who created something to help one child in need… has grown into a world wide movement of tinkerers, engineers, 3D print enthusiasts, occupational therapists, university professors, designers, parents, families, artists, students, teachers, and people who just want to make a difference,” the e-NABLE website states.

Luke’s father, Gregg, reached out to e-NABLE and has worked with them to develop Luke’s prosthetics from his very own home. Gregg now has an Ultimaker 3D printer that allows him to design various prosthetic hands for his son — and he can even choose different styles and colors, depending on what Luke wants at the time.

“If something breaks, you can just print out a new part right on the spot,” Aaron Brown, an e-NABLE volunteer who builds prosthetics for kids, said in the video.

Brown explains that despite the fact that these kids have to grow up with a disability, having a colorful prosthetic hand is actually way cooler than one might think — giving them the ability to be different superheroes. Take Rayden Kahae, for example, a Hawaiian kid who uses an e-NABLE prosthetic and calls himself Iron Man.

“One of the things I like to do with them is theme them out,” Brown said in the video. “I was always a big comic book fan as a kid. I printed some safe Velcro, plastic wolverine claws, which has been a hit everywhere I take it.”

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