Here’s another story about those pesky 3D printers and the possibilities they represent.
Emma was born with a congenital condition known as arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC). It leaves her unable to control her arms. Her mother found out about the Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX), an assistive device made of hinged metal bars and resistance bands.
WREX is designed for use in conjunction with a wheel chair so designers had to scale the system down for the tyke Emma. Tariq Rahman, Ph.D, head of pediatric engineering and research, and Whitney Sample, research designer, both from Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware set to work and were able to adapt the dimensions for her use. Additionally, the design can be refitted with larger and larger components as Emma grows. Not only are the current components produced on a 3-dimensional printed but future parts will as well. From all accounts, Emma’s life has been immeasurably improved by this technology. Already, other children are receiving customized variants of WREX.
This story affects our community on so many levels. First, there is the medical aspect. We have plenty of troops who have muscular and skeletal injuries. The lower profile, and the cheaper we can produce these robotic assistance devices the better. Second, is the robotics issue. technologies such as this may actually leap ahead of current military programs. And finally, we have the 3D printer phenomenon. The technology is becoming more powerful, more common and less expensive. It is going to drastically change how we interact with technology in the future. Stories like this should inspire us to apply these capabilities to our own community.
