Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: pleased

Printable Hands

My partner Doug found this awesome article about 3D printed hands.  I've been following similar advances but this one is different -- the patterns are public domain so anyone can customize, print, and assemble a manual prosthesis.  Awesome!  If you're into model kits or 3D printing, and looking for volunteer opportunities, seriously consider this.  

I am particularly pleased that the people behind the design released it to the public so it could be used freely as needed, instead of holding it hostage for exorbitant amounts of money like conventional prosthetics.  A 3D hand costs $20-50.  Compare that to the cost of conventional prosthetics: $5000 for a merely cosmetic arm, $10,000 for a simplistic hook, and $20,000-$100,000 for a high-performance myoelectric arm.  Granted the high-end model currently does things the 3D one can't, but people are already improving the 3D version, and it's a lot better to have something  than nothing at all.  Regarding cosmetic aspects, children and geeks seem to find the robotic-looking 3D hands cool and appealing.  Instead of hitting the "uncanny valley" they hit the "nifty toy" category.

This is what open source can do when you turn it loose.  :D
Tags: cyberspace theory, networking, reading, science, video
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  • 4 comments
technoshaman

technoshaman

February 22 2015, 02:13:08 UTC 6 years ago

<3 <3 <3. You get it.
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

February 22 2015, 02:18:33 UTC 6 years ago

I know how to do a great many things that I can't actually do. That includes a lot of geekery.
fayanora

fayanora

February 26 2015, 10:13:53 UTC 6 years ago

My first thought on seeing the title in my email was "medical fabricators." I have an unfinished (old, barely started) story where the main character loses an arm behind enemy lines and later gets a new one printed and installed by a medi-fabber; medi-fabbers inject copies of a person's own DNA into blank stem cells and then uses those stem cells to make new organs, tissues, and limbs.
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

February 26 2015, 20:50:53 UTC 6 years ago

Humans have started experimenting with that kind of technology too. So far, soft tissues like organs and a few semi-soft things like ears. It'll be a while before they can replace appendages that require complex armature.