Subscribe free to our newsletters via your




TECH SPACE
3D printer makes bionic hand for 5-year-old girl
by Brooks Hays
Inverness, Scotland (UPI) Oct 2, 2014


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

Hayley Fraser, a five-year-old girl from Scotland, recently became the first child in the United Kingdom to be outfitted with a prosthetic limb made using 3D printing technology.

Fraser was born without fingers on her left hand; ashamed, she'd often hide that hand when having her picture taken. But not anymore. Her new bright pink bionic hand, inspired by the movie Ironman, is quite a sight -- something worth showing off.

The prosthetic hand didn't come easy, though. Fraser's family says she was denied a prosthetic hand by United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS). So her parents, David and Zania Fraser, went online to see what they could find. They happened upon the website of E-nable, a group of volunteers in the United States -- including engineers, artists and academics -- who design and build prosthetics for children.

One of the members of E-nable is Professor Frankie Flood, an engineer at the University of Wisconsin. After being put in touch with Flood, Fraser's parents made a cast of their daughter's hand and sent it across the Atlantic. Flood used the model to print out properly-sized prosthetic components using a 3D printer. The superhero-themed hand was ready in just six weeks.

Meet the first child in the UK with a 3D-printed prosthetic arm http://t.co/sNrEsAfL1g pic.twitter.com/otqQDD6EEi— i100 (@thei100) October 2, 2014

Now, Fraser can manipulate her prosthetic hand's artificial tendons, joints and fingers by flexing and rotating her wrist.

"It was all her dreams come true," Fraser's father told the Independent. "It's the little things -- she can hold her teddy, peel a banana and even paint her nails now."

David says she no longer hides her hand, or acts embarrassed around her friends. And that may be the most important benefit.

"When we started it was more about function, but now it's much more about self-esteem," explained another E-nable volunteer, Melina Brown. "They make the kids feel really special, rather than being something to be embarrassed about."

.


Related Links
Space Technology News - Applications and Research






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





TECH SPACE
Japan firm showcases 'touchable' 3D technology
Tsukuba, Japan (AFP) Sept 01, 2014
Technology that generates touchable 3D imagery was unveiled in Japan Monday, with its developers saying users could pull and push objects that are not really there. Know-how that could improve a gaming experience, or allow someone to physically shape objects that exist only on a computer, will soon be available to buy, said Miraisens, a high-tech firm based outside Tokyo. "Touching is an ... read more


TECH SPACE
Predicting landslides with light

Japan, Mexico to join UN peacekeeping

Germany to host conference on Syrian refugees

IS pillaging Iraqi artefacts, UNESCO warns

TECH SPACE
Russia Unable To Reject Foreign Parts in GLONASS Satellites

Talks Over GLONASS Station Locations in US on Hold

Sam Houston State study examines use of GIS in policing

Western Sanctions Fail to Impede GLONASS Satellite Production

TECH SPACE
DNA analysis suggests humanity has more mothers than fathers

Ancient genome from southern Africa throws light on our origins

New study explains the brain of multitaskers

Politics Divide Coastal Residents' Views of Environment

TECH SPACE
35,000 walruses mass on Alaska beach 'due to climate change'

Protected areas offer glimmers of hope for wildlife

Dolphins are attracted to magnets

New ant species survives by mimicking rivals, infiltrating neighboring colonies

TECH SPACE
China to open first high security bio laboratory

Ebola epidemic battering Liberian economy: minister

1,400 US troops soon headed to Liberia for Ebola mission

Sierra Leone quarantines one million ahead of UN Ebola talks

TECH SPACE
Man stabs four school kids to death in southern China: Xinhua

Parents protest in China after school stampede kills 6

Six Nobel laureates boycott summit over Dalai Lama visa

China puts former top economic planner on trial

TECH SPACE
Hijacked Singaporean ship released near Nigeria: Seoul

Chinese fish farmer freed after Malaysia kidnapping

TECH SPACE
'Umbrella Revolution' risks cold shower for HK business

China manufacturing growth stalls in September: govt

China September PMI misses estimate: HSBC

Vietnam's growth accelerates despite anti-China riots




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.