Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Energy News .




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
First large-scale carbon capture goes online in Canada

Paraffins to cut energy consumption in homes

South Australia to reap benefits from higher Renewable Energy Target

Renewables critical to achieving Energy Green Paper goals

TECH SPACE
Recruiting bacteria to be technology innovation partners

Lego-like modular components make building 3-D 'labs-on-a-chip' a snap

Algorithm allows easy switch out and recharge of electric car batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries closer to commercial reality with more energy

TECH SPACE
Scottish renewable energy output up 30 percent from 2013

UAE's Masdar joins mega wind project off Britain

RWE Innogy gets new British wind energy running

Moventas to service two turbines in Eesti Energia's Aulepa wind park

TECH SPACE
Taking thin films to the extreme

How to make a 'perfect' solar absorber

Blades of grass inspire advance in organic solar cells

Future mega cities will need solar roof energy

TECH SPACE
Sweden's Social Democrats and Greens agree on nuclear freeze

SAfrica denies corruption in Russia nuclear plant pact

Fukushima operator, Sellafield to compare nuclear notes

Moscow, Kazakhstan initial deal to build Kazakh nuclear plant

TECH SPACE
Bioenergy: Australia's forgotten renewable energy source (so far)

Maverick Synfuels Introduces Maverick Oasis

Plant variants point the way to improved biofuel production

Search for better biofuels microbes leads to the human gut

TECH SPACE
China's first space lab in operation for over 1000 days

China Exclusive: Mars: China's next goal?

Astronauts eye China's future space station

China eyes working with other nations as station plans develop

TECH SPACE
Greenland Ice Sheet more vulnerable than previously thought

NASA, Partners Target Megacities Carbon Emissions

CO2 emissions set to reach new 40 billion ton record high in 2014

Climate: Now to turn summit prose into action




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.