Faith Lennox and her $50 dollar 3D printed arm. (image via press-telegram)
3-D printing is an innovative technology that's being used for numerous projects from crafting to cooking. Now, one company has used it to print out prosthetic limbs. Meet seven-year-old Faith Lennox, a sweet blond haired girl who lost her left hand at nine months old due to compartment syndrome. Her position during childbirth cut off the blood flow to her hand and after spending nine months trying to save the limb, doctors decided to amputate. Thanks to 3-D printing technology Lennox not only received a prosthetic, she also got to pick out the colors: pink, blue, and purple.
The “robohand” was provided by Build It workspace in Los Alamitos, a 3-D printing studio that teaches people how to use the printers and provides them access to them for various projects. They also do some work in commercial printing. Build It owner Mark Lengsfield thinks this technology is revolutionary, especially for children like Faith who grow out of costly prosthetics and may even have trouble using them due to weight and size.
Faith's parents were aware of how 3-D printing could help their daughter. They were working with the nonprofit group E-Nable to get her a 3-D printed hand, but there's a lengthy waiting list. She then learned about Build It workspace from a friend whose son recently visited the facilities with his Scout troop. E-Nable provides the technology to build the hand and is very cost effective. Faith's new hand was a total of $50. There's still so much to learn about 3-D printing, but who thought it would help a little girl ride her bike again so soon.
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