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Can anyone help me to get a helping hand?
3D printed Myoelectric Prosthetic Hand
UPDATE
What started off as an effort to get myself a new hand has evolved into something much bigger, I want to change the world. If I can "print out" & assemble a hand, why can't anyone, anywhere?
We will release our design as an open source - free to all.
We will provide lists of the non 3D printable ,off the shelf parts (motors, electrodes, ect) complete with links to purchace them.
We will design a Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Program where facing a camera & screen, amputees can learn to control the arm & practice fine motor skills.
We will design "skins" which will make the arms fun to wear.
WE ARE CHANGING THE WORLD
I am a congenital amputee. I was born without my left arm below the elbow. When I was a toddler, I was fitted for a metal hook. In grade school, I received the first child sized myoelectric (muscle controlled movement) prosthesis from UCLA. The myoelectric would open & close in a pinching motion. It was bulky and very heavy. I wore this until I was a teenager. The weight of the arm was causing back pain. I made the decision to go without. It was the right decision at the time. I was "Born This Way" long before Lady Gaga!
The human body is designed to be balanced, symmetrical. Mine isn't. Many years, decades of unbalanced movement has taken its toll. Imagine, every time you tie your shoe, you have to get your foot up to your elbow to make the tie. Apply that one-handed technique to every two-handed task that you do on a daily basis. Washing dishes, moving boxes, driving. Now imagine doing that every day, Every day, forever.
Things that I could easily do before have become difficult. My hand has lost strenght & dexterity from over use & over compensation. My back hurts from spinal stenosis, scoliosis and a bulging disc. Thankfully, I have medical insurance to cover these needs. My husband has taken over most of the two-handed tasks. I no longer buy shoes with laces. I still have to do all the other day to day tasks. I could really use a helping hand.
My new hand will be created by Nick Anderson of The Long Beach Makers Society at CSULB http://lbmakersociety.org/
Thanks to 3D printing technology, he is able to customize a lightweight design with five moving fingers. It will be myoelectric and voice controlled (for special functions and to use when I have fatigued muscles). It will be modular in design, I'll have the option to swap out the hand for a special function multi-fingered claw.
I am attempting to raise money to cover the cost of materials.
Thank you.
I will be posting more information, plans, photos & links as the project progresses.
3D printed Myoelectric Prosthetic Hand
UPDATE
What started off as an effort to get myself a new hand has evolved into something much bigger, I want to change the world. If I can "print out" & assemble a hand, why can't anyone, anywhere?
We will release our design as an open source - free to all.
We will provide lists of the non 3D printable ,off the shelf parts (motors, electrodes, ect) complete with links to purchace them.
We will design a Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Program where facing a camera & screen, amputees can learn to control the arm & practice fine motor skills.
We will design "skins" which will make the arms fun to wear.
WE ARE CHANGING THE WORLD
I am a congenital amputee. I was born without my left arm below the elbow. When I was a toddler, I was fitted for a metal hook. In grade school, I received the first child sized myoelectric (muscle controlled movement) prosthesis from UCLA. The myoelectric would open & close in a pinching motion. It was bulky and very heavy. I wore this until I was a teenager. The weight of the arm was causing back pain. I made the decision to go without. It was the right decision at the time. I was "Born This Way" long before Lady Gaga!
The human body is designed to be balanced, symmetrical. Mine isn't. Many years, decades of unbalanced movement has taken its toll. Imagine, every time you tie your shoe, you have to get your foot up to your elbow to make the tie. Apply that one-handed technique to every two-handed task that you do on a daily basis. Washing dishes, moving boxes, driving. Now imagine doing that every day, Every day, forever.
Things that I could easily do before have become difficult. My hand has lost strenght & dexterity from over use & over compensation. My back hurts from spinal stenosis, scoliosis and a bulging disc. Thankfully, I have medical insurance to cover these needs. My husband has taken over most of the two-handed tasks. I no longer buy shoes with laces. I still have to do all the other day to day tasks. I could really use a helping hand.
My new hand will be created by Nick Anderson of The Long Beach Makers Society at CSULB http://lbmakersociety.org/
Thanks to 3D printing technology, he is able to customize a lightweight design with five moving fingers. It will be myoelectric and voice controlled (for special functions and to use when I have fatigued muscles). It will be modular in design, I'll have the option to swap out the hand for a special function multi-fingered claw.
I am attempting to raise money to cover the cost of materials.
Thank you.
I will be posting more information, plans, photos & links as the project progresses.