Taurus 3D – Prosthetic Hand Project
Project successfully completed – by Jerry Ennett
CLICK HERE FOR PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT
For
the past few years Taurus 3D has been making functional prosthetic
hands for kids in Southwestern Ontario using 3D printing. 3D printing
has the ability to create custom, functional prosthetic devices for 25$.
These devices are comparable to the less functional industry
alternatives that cost hundreds to thousands of dollars.
In
the Fall of 2017, Taurus 3D came AMAR SEVA SANGAM, a nationally
acclaimed Rehab centre, situated in a in rural South India, to educate
the medical professionals and clinicians on how to use 3D printing to
provide inexpensive 3D printed prosthetics for their community. Amar Seva Sangam sees
around 15 amputees per month and did not have the capabilities to
provide these patients with prosthetic devices. Instead, these patients
are referred to a clinic in Chennai which requires a multi day trip
consisting over 20 hrs of travel, hotel costs etc… For many, spending
this time away from work and family results in even more costs
associated in obtaining a prosthetic device. Also these are very
poor, low income families who can not afford the cost associated.
However,
Jerry Ennett from Taurus 3D printing, along with another engineer,
visited the clinic to provide them with a sustainable solution to this
problem. They also launched a patient tracking program that will connect
patients who need a device with trained professionals that can provide
them with cost-effective 3D printed hands.
To
ensure their solution is sustainable they will be maintaining a long
term relationship with the clinic and the patients using our 3D printed
hands. They will be compiling the information they gather from patient
and clinic feedback so that anyone designing and printing these devices
in the future can create the best devices possible.
The
goal is to create a sustainable distribution network for patients to
receive technically advanced and affordable prosthetic limbs.
