Boy, 6, gets first 3D-printed hand

A SIX-YEAR-OLD old boy today becomes the first person in France to receive a 3-D printed hand as part of a global volunteer scheme, e-NABLE.

Maxence Contegal was born with a malformed right arm and will now benefit from a plastic, colourful hand which, though not a fully-functional prosthetic device, can be used for simple tasks like holding a bottle or riding a bike.

Maxence’s mother told France 3 her son felt like a super hero with the new hand and had chosen the colours on his hand and added an M 'for Super Max', and that he would now have something to be proud of to show his friends at school.

e-NABLE (enablingthefuture.org) was started by an American professor to spread an idea which arose after an American prop maker and a South African carpenter communicated across the continents to create a new kind of prosthetic hand. They decided to give the plans away for free so that those in need could make one for themselves or find somebody to make it for them.

The organisation estimates that at least 1,500 hands have now been created, mostly for children, in 37 countries. The materials for each cost about 32 euros which compares to between 5,500 and 9,000 euros for a professionally-made, muscle activated one, the charity says.

e-NABLE depends on volunteers from all over the world and half of them operate or own 3D printers. It takes some time to measure and make and fit the hand, but they give their time free to create something useful for a person in need.

3D printing has existed since the late 1980s but has become more affordable and widely used in the past eight years.

The system used to create the prosthetic operates by moving a very small nozzle around in two directions to draw a picture using a thin thread of molten plastic. Once the printer finishes drawing one ‘picture’ – which becomes a layer, the platform on which it is drawing moves down a small step to make space for a new layer. Thus each device is built up in a series of thin layers to become a 3D object.

Plans for 10 different versions of hand are available and each one is made up of different pieces which each have to be made separately and then put together. There is a specially created web application into which the recipient’s measurements are entered to create a correctly sized device.

e-NABLE aims to help people for whom traditional prosthetic hands are too expensive or impractical because children grow so quickly, by bringing together those who need a hand and those who can help make one. It helps children like Maxence to join in games with the other children in the playground.

Photo: Shows a hands similar to the one made for Maxence. Image – Jen Martin Studios