Inventive dad builds son a bionic arm using 3D printer
by:Tuowei2019-08-29
A father, his son had his arm cut off for only 10 days, and he developed a bionic arm for him with a 3D printer. Ben Ryan came up with the idea after being told that Sol had no doctor to do anything for him before he was one year old. Even so, he was told that Sol would need to be three years old before installing a movable electric device. \"I \'ve found a fairly clear pattern where children don\'t install functional hands until they\'re two years old and tend to reject prosthetic limbs,\" the former psychology lecturer said . \". \"I think I can do better. \"He started using\" my odds and sods at home \"when Sol was five weeks old to reach out and help him play. Initially, he used a sponge and bandage as a prop for his son, but soon found a more creative solution. His current device is inspired by the way spiders move their legs with fluid pressure. This arm allows the wearer to control a basic grasping mechanism, which Mr Ryan says will serve as a training device for young amputees to better adapt to more when they get older The prosthesis was made using 3D printing after scanning Sol\'s arm. The father from Bongo resigned from his full-time job of developing artificial limbs and set up a company called Ambionics to develop artificial limbs for other babies. He has now launched the ato to help launch the product. He hopes to raise £ 150,000 to apply for a patent for the technology and to conduct medical tests and certifications for use by other young people. The project was praised by the health director of the Wales NHS. Dr. Nefyn Williams, innovation director of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Committee, said that Ambionics\'s work \"has the potential to radically change the care of infants with upper limb differences \".