3D-Printing Gives a 7-Year-Old Girl Her Dream
From: ThomasNet - 10/27/2017
By: David Mantey

Seven-year-old Hailey Dawson was born with Poland syndrome, which is a rare
congenital disability that meant that she was born without the three middle
fingers on her right hand. Her mother was told by Doctors that, once Hailey
was older, a custom prosthetic could be fitted to enable Hailey to use her
hand for a broader range of tasks. At the time, Hailey was four years old,
and her mother didn't want her to have to wait until high school before she
finally received a custom prosthetic. If she did wait, the custom prosthetic
would cost the family more than $25,000.

Her mother reached out to a team of doctors at the University of Nevada, Las
Vegas (UNLV). Using a Stratasys 3D printer, the members of UNLV's Department
of Mechanical Engineering created a 3D-printed hand for Hailey. The design is
based on the Flexy-Hand 2, an open source design that can be altered,
adjusted, and reprinted as Hailey grows. The Flexy-Hand 2 can be printed at a
fraction of the cost of a custom prosthetic - the hands could eventually be
printed for as low as $200.

Read the entire article and view a video (2:09) at:
https://news.thomasnet.com/featured/3d-printing-gives-a-7-year-old-girl-her-dream

Links:
Flexy-Hand 2
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:380665

The Flexy Hand and Flexy Hand 2
http://enablingthefuture.org/upper-limb-prosthetics/the-flexy-hand