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General Information

Model ID

3DPX-000524

Category

Medical/Anatomical

Keyword(s)

e-NABLE, Creighton University, Low cost prosthetic hand, pediatrics, 3D Printing, Upper limb differences

Statement

The Creighton University Research Group has made the Cyborg Beast files available for research and personal use. Our intention is to make this device accessible to everyone independent of their economic background. Our group is conducting extensive research (IRB # 13-16909) to identify benefit and functionality of our prosthetic design. Based on our research and feedback provided by our research participants we will update the files of our design. Our designed has been improved with the help of many members of e-NABLE (http://enablingthefuture.org/) and the Creighton University Research Group.

Creighton University Research Group:

Jorge Zuniga Ph.D 1, Dimitrios Katsavelis Ph.D 1, Jean Peck OTL, CHT2 , Al Bracciano EdD, OTR/L, FAOTA, FAIS3, John Stollberg OT3, Marc Petrykowski1, Adam Carson1, Nicole Dempsey1, Keven Carney OT3, Cheryl frickel OT3, Carolyn Taylor4, and Cristina Fernandez MD5.

1. Department of Exercise Science & Pre-health professions, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178

2. Creighton University Medical Center, Department of Occupational Therapy, Omaha, NE 68131

3. Department of Occupational Therapy, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178

4. Department of Physics, Omaha, NE 68178

5. Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68114

e-NABLE

Resources: http://enablingthefuture.org/resources/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/enableorganization

Google+ Community: http://bitly.com/e‐nable

Email: info@enablingthefuture.org

Cyborg Beast Characteristics

Our low-cost 3D-printed prosthetic hand named “Cyborg Beast” was designed using a CAD program (Blender 7.0, Blender Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands) and manufactured in our laboratory using a desktop 3D printer (Makerbot Replicator 2X, Makerbot Industries, Brooklyn, NY). Elastic cords inside the dorsal aspect of the fingers provide passive finger extension. Finger flexion is driven by non-elastic cords running along the palmar surface of each finger and is activated through 20-30° of wrist flexion. The result is a composite fist for gross grasp. The materials used for printing our prosthetic hand are polylactide (PLA) plastic and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Other components of the mechanical hand include Chicago screws of various sizes, 1 mm lift nylon cord, 1.5 mm elastic cord, Velcro, medical-grade firm padded foam, protective skin sock, a dial tensioner system (Mid power reel M3, Boa Technology Inc., Denver, Colorado), and a printable tensioner system (see gaunt tensioner and hex sleeve files). The majority of these materials are available at local hardware stores or online. The cost of materials is about $50 USD. The fitting procedures for our prosthetic hand require few simple anthropometric measures of both limbs to properly scale the prosthetic device and can be performed at a distance.

***CAUTION - Investigational Device. Limited by Federal (or United States) law to investigational use***

Model Details

Medical Application

Personalized/Precision Prosthetics

How to Make

Recommended 3D Printer(s)

Thermoplastic extrusion, single extruder

Thermoplastic extrusion, multiple extruders

Recommended Printing Material

PLA and ABS

Recommended Support Material

Optional

Pre- and Postprocessing Instructions

See Cyborg Beast instruction manual for more details.

Attribution

PubMed ID

25 601 104

Author(s)

Zuniga J, Katsavelis D, Peck J, Stollberg J, Petrykowski M, Carson A, Fernandez C

Citation Title

Cyborg beast: a low-cost 3d-printed prosthetic hand for children with upper-limb differences

Journal

BMC Res Notes

Citation Year

2015

Month

Jan

Day

Volume

Issue

Abstract

BackgroundThere is an increasing number of children with traumatic and congenital hand amputations or reductions. Children's prosthetic needs are complex due to their small size, constant growth, and psychosocial development. Families¿ financial resources play a crucial role in the prescription of prostheses for their children, especially when private insurance and public funding are insufficient. Electric-powered (i.e., myoelectric) and body-powered (i.e., mechanical) devices have been developed to accommodate children¿s needs, but the cost of maintenance and replacement represents an obstacle for many families. Due to the complexity and high cost of these prosthetic hands, they are not accessible to children from low-income, uninsured families or to children from developing countries. Advancements in computer-aided design (CAD) programs, additive manufacturing, and image editing software offer the possibility of designing, printing, and fitting prosthetic hands devices at a distance and at very low cost. The purpose of this preliminary investigation was to describe a low-cost three-dimensional (3D)-printed prosthetic hand for children with upper-limb reductions and to propose a prosthesis fitting methodology that can be performed at a distance.ResultsNo significant mean differences were found between the anthropometric and range of motion measurements taken directly from the upper limbs of subjects versus those extracted from photographs. The Bland and Altman plots show no major bias and narrow limits of agreements for lengths and widths and small bias and wider limits of agreements for the range of motion measurements. The main finding of the survey was that our prosthetic device may have a significant potential to positively impact quality of life and daily usage, and can be incorporated in several activities at home and in school.ConclusionsThis investigation describes a low-cost 3D-printed prosthetic hand for children and proposes a distance fitting procedure. The Cyborg Beast prosthetic hand and the proposed distance-fitting procedures may represent a possible low-cost alternative for children in developing countries and those who have limited access to health care providers. Further studies should examine the functionality, validity, durability, benefits, and rejection rate of this type of low-cost 3D-printed prosthetic device.