3D Printed Prosthetic Hand

Hayley Fraser, a five-year-old girl from Scotland, recently became the first child in the United Kingdom to be outfitted with a prosthetic limb made using 3D printing technology.

She was born without fingers on her left hand. Her parents, David and Zania Fraser, went online to try and help their daughter who had been turned down by the National Health System. They came across the website of E-nable, a group of volunteers in the United States who design and build prosthetics for children. They made a cast of their daughter's hand and sent it to the group. Professor Flood used the model to print out properly-sized prosthetic components using a 3D printer.

Now, Hayley can manipulate her prosthetic hand's artificial tendons, joints, and fingers by flexing and rotating her wrist. She can hold her teddy, peel a banana, and even paint her nails. Her new bright pink bionic hand was inspired by the movie Ironman.