Iron Man’s hand: Technion gives prosthetic hands to children
The prosthetic limbs are printed using advanced 3D technology and given for free to children from Israel, the West Bank, Syria and Brazil.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF3D printed mechanical and robotic prosthetic hands(photo credit: NITZAN ZOHAR/TECHNION SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE)
Using innovative 3D printing technology, scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology had been able to help amputee children by creating prosthetic hands for them, an info-video revealed on Sunday.The children are involved in the design of the artificial hand and often view it in comic-book heroes’ terms such as Iron Man’s hand or Superman’s hand. The finished prosthetic is able to hold lightweight objects and provide the children a better sense of balance. The most immediate benefit is psychological, as the children no longer feel that their amputation makes them unusual and instead have a “cool bionic hand” to impress their friends with.While most of the hands are given to children in Israel, children in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were given hands as well, as was one child in Syria. The hands were even sent to children in Brazil and the UK.The Technion is working on this project with Haifa 3D, which had been working with the E-Nable online community to offer prosthetic limbs, for free, since 2013. It was co-founded by Jon Schull who visited Haifa to give a lecture about the non-profit in 2019.While technically speaking any artificial body part is bionic, it’s important to note that not all bionic hands are as sophisticated as those depicted in films such as the Star Wars franchise, which famously depicts Luke Skywalker having his hand replaced with a bionic prosthetic that functions as efficiently as his original.The hands created by the Technion can grab lightweight objects such as a ball or a cup of water but can not move each individual finger or, for example, help a child grab on to a monkey bar.
