Home Applications & Case Studies Five-Year-Old Girl Gets 3D Printed Prosthetic Hand from Public Library

Five-Year-Old Girl Gets 3D Printed Prosthetic Hand from Public Library

Katelyn, a bubbly five-year-old from Victoria, Texas, was born without a fully-formed left hand. Being on a waiting list for a functional prosthetic for quite some time, Katelyn has now received a 3D printed prosthetic arm from the Harris County Public Library.

When the family reached out to the library, they wanted to know whether their team was able to take on this project. Patrick Ferrel, innovation lab trainer in on of the branches, explained that they know how to make 3D prints and build things, but haven’t specific experience. Nevertheless, Ferrell and his team of volunteers were confident to succeed and started by determining which of e-NABLE’s open source design would best fit Katelyn. Once the model was scaled to the right size, the team started printing and assembling the approximately three dozen components using fasteners, bands and other hardware.

Katelyn's 3D printed hand in her favourite colours pink and purple, Image: Harris County Public Library
Katelyn’s 3D printed hand in her favourite colours pink and purple, Image: Harris County Public Library

The 3D printed arm was then handed over to Katelyn with her family being part of the exciting moment. Ferrell describes the emotional moment: “I will tell you that this kid, she’s just a bubbly, happy smiling kid that lights up a room. But when she put the arm up, and she lit up even brighter – that was impressive.”


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