Engineers at the CITRIS Invention Lab at UC Berkeley are studying how 3D printing can be used to develop custom prosthetic devices for people with unique challenges. Children, for example, can quickly outgrow any device, so being able to create new iterations rapidly and at a low cost can make prostheses a lot more useful and accessible.
As one of their flagship projects, the engineers designed a hand for a girl with a poorly developed left hand. She can now perform tasks previously impossible for her and will be getting ever larger replacements as she continues to grow.
Here’s a UC Berkeley video report about the research:
More from UC Berkeley: Sophie’s super hand…
