Skip to main content

3D printer builds ‘Magic Arms’ for two-year-old girl with joint disease

emma-magic-arms
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Detailed within a YouTube video, researchers at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children developed a lightweight exoskeleton for a two-year old girl named Emma that was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC). The disease can cause joints to become permanently fixed in a single position. Prevalent in Emma’s arms, it was impossible for her to lift her own arms on her own in order to do something as simple as picking up a toy or even giving her mom or dad a big hug. After researching the disease, Emma’s parents attended a medical conference where they learned about the Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX). Emma was able to try out a version of the WREX at the hospital, but she was too small for the bulky metal arms.

WREXIn order to design a version for Emma that would both fit her and weigh significantly less, the researchers used the Stratays Dimension 3D printer to build pieces of the arms out of the same type of plastic that’s used in LEGOs. The pieces snap together and resistance bands are used to adjust the tension on the two arms.

In addition, the researchers also developed a jacket that fits over Emma and the arms are fixed to that exoskeleton. This allowed Emma to have increased mobility in her home. She could finally use her arms to do things like color drawings or eat candy as well as simply having fun being a silly kid.

As Emma has grown up, she outgrew the first version of the exoskeleton. However, the 3D printer allows the researchers to input new specifications into a computer program and print larger parts as she grows older. It’s also handy for printing new sections of the exoskeleton when something happens to break. After Emma’s parents send the researchers a digital photograph of the broken piece, the newly printed piece can be dropped in the mail and delivered to Emma’s parents the next day.

When Emma’s parents tell Emma that they are putting on the WREX each day, Emma calls the device her “magic arms.” Researchers have used the design that they built for Emma and have created similar lightweight exoskeletons for other children. 

Editors' Recommendations

Mike Flacy
By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…
3D printing lets hospitals make ventilator substitutes with common equipment
PEEP mask 1

Materialise 3D Prints Non-Invasive PEEP Masks to Alleviate Ventilator Shortage

Many hospitals around the world currently have an alarming shortage of mechanical ventilators, which they can use to treat COVID-19 patients. Responding to this crisis, Belgian 3D printing company Materialise has developed a 3D-printable device that transforms standard equipment available in the majority of hospitals into a mask that can help coronavirus patients get the oxygen they desperately need into their lungs. The company’s smart solution promises to create high positive pressure in patients’ lungs without the use of a traditional ventilator.

Read more
3D-printed ventilator valves help out Italian hospital rocked by coronavirus
3d printed ventilator valves img 20200314 223845

What do you do when a crucial part of a lifesaving piece of medical equipment is in hopelessly short supply? You 3D print yourself a supply of them, of course. At least, that’s what happened at a hospital in Brescia, Italy, rocked by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

While ventilator breathing machines are not exactly in abundant supply, medical professionals found that the valves connecting the machine to the patient were even scarcer. This is due to the fact that they have to be regularly swapped out between patients, giving the component a very short life span.

Read more
3D-printing technique produces tiny, highly detailed objects in seconds
The new fast 3D printing technique developed by researchers at EPFL.

The new fast 3D printing technique developed by researchers at EPFL. Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

3D printing has incredible potential for both research and home uses, but it has some limitations. The current technology takes some time to produce an object, and it produces hard structures only. But now, researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) have come up with a method for printing highly-precise miniature objects with different textures.

Read more