Daniel is a Sudanese boy who tragically lost both upper extremities in an bomb attack. His story, described in a 2012 TIME story inspired Not Impossible Labs CEO Mick Ebeling to fly to the South Sudan with the goal of giving Daniel prosthetic arms. Collaborating with industry experts, including the inventor of the 3D-printed Robohand, Not Impossible Labs set up reportedly the world’s first prosthetic lab with 3D printers.
With their lab in the South Sudan they were able to create new arms for Daniel, but they didn’t just stop there. By training local villagers to use the 3D printers and the lab they were able to set up the infrastructure to continue to create low cost prosthetics (roughly $100 each) for amputees in need.
The design is open source to encourage widespread adoption and further development. The prosthesis itself is somewhat limited, with fingers having basic functionality and special attachments being required for certain activities like eating, but future iterations are promised to improve on the technology.
Link: Project Daniel…