“The goal of our prosthetics is not necessarily to be a replacement hand but more of a confidence-builder for these kids,” said Brendan Kim, USC Viterbi School of Engineering sophomore and member of USC Freehand. “Growing up with a limb difference can be challenging, especially psychologically, so we want our patients to be proud of the process. I like to think we’re setting them up for bigger and better things.”
Part of USC’s 3D4E organization, Freehand works directly with children in the Los Angeles area via a partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA). Dr. Nina Lightdale-Miric, CHLA director of Pediatric Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery Program and “CATCH” Hand Differences Program founder, helps coordinate bringing the children and students together.
First, the student team consults with a child and their family, during which exact measurements of the hand dimensions are taken. This includes specific physical characteristics so that the team is able to modify or scale the design down the road. The child also gets to customize the design by choosing from various colors and artwork.
“A child might have his wrist and palm formed, but the fingers didn’t fully develop from there. The prosthetic could work by flexing the wrist,” Kim said. “Or there maybe be no wrist presence, but they do have a fully formed elbow, so we’d connect the prosthetic to the bicep to gain leverage to open and close the fingers by activating the elbow.”
After the consultation, the team gets to work creating a virtual design of the prosthetic using CAD software. Enabling the Future, which is dedicated to the promotion and distribution of 3D-printed prostheses, provides the 3D model files. The students are able to edit the files to add and scale elements, such as superhero artwork, to ensure they fit.
Along with helping children gain confidence and experience with prosthetics as they grow, the Freehand project is also helping the engineering students involved. They work with various people throughout the process, and perform interdisciplinary work across different engineering disciplines, learning valuable communication skills while also honing their expertise in design, prototyping, creating and 3D printing.
Interested in other ways 3D printing is changing the healthcare landscape? Check out 3D Printed Wearable Personalized Sensors Developed and 3D Systems Expands Bioprinting Capabilities.