The following text is from ACU Graduate School webpage:
3-D Printing and Occupational Therapy Prosthetic Hand Project
ACU’s Master of Science in Occupational Therapy students received a unique hands-on experience thanks to the Maker Lab.
First-semester graduate students in the Intro to Making class were assigned to create a prosthetic hand for a specific population using 3-D printing in the Maker Lab, said MSOT program director and chair Dr. Hope Martin.
With prices of traditional prosthetics reaching $100,000 and higher, cheaper alternatives are a must, said student Hannah Flowers.
New level of accessibility
“With the new advances in technology, tools are becoming readily accessible to the public that have not been accessible before. This includes the technology of 3D printing,” Martin said.
“These low-tech prosthetics can be made for $15. These are great for pediatrics who will quickly grow out of prosthetics,” said student Audrey Hanna.
“We thought it would be very educational, cutting edge and fun to have our students attempt this project,” Martin said.
Creating the prosthetics was no easy task, Hanna said.
“Seeing the students engaged in the project from the beginning, not being intimidated by technology was simply inspiring,” said Nil Santana, assistant professor of art and design and director of the Maker Lab.
“Learning to use the technology was difficult,” Flowers said, adding that the prosthetic hands to a week and a half to make.
“The learning curve was steep indeed, but all of them understood the challenges and were willing to learn,” Santana said.
“I think the hardest part was assembling the pieces after they were printed,” Hanna said.
Rising to the challenge
The students rose to the challenge, though, said Martin. “The prosthetic hands were beyond what I imagined first year graduate students could do,” she said. “The students were so thoughtful about preparing their hands and took into consideration many facets of disease and disability, which is what we wanted them to do, but they took it further than even we planned.”
“I considered all prosthetics they made very successful, with some presenting minor tweaks and adjustments, but no major issues,” Santana said.
“The results are prototypes but could be useful for a particular patient in the future,” Martin said.
“This is going to be the future of prosthetics,” Flowers said.
The master of science in occupational therapy program and the Maker Lab will continue to work together in the future, Martin said.
“We have built the Maker Lab into our occupational therapy curriculum to purposefully have students engage in technology their entire occupational therapy graduate school experience,” Martin said.
“Hopefully, for our next projects students will have a chance to work with real patients,” Santana said. “I can’t wait to see what they will be able to make.”
“Occupational therapists are known for adapting environments or ‘ways of doing’ in order to help people with disabilities and diseases be more independent because in daily living,” Martin said. “Combining the latest technology with our profession just makes sense.”