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With the goal of helping children in need, Digital Media students have been busy using 3D printers to create an affordable prosthetic hand.

boces digitalmedia1Pictured from left, Digital Media students Devin Westlake, Keri Lawson, Dezmond Garnetto and Lukas Stewart pose with prosthetic hand they're helping design for a child in need.

The inspiration for the project came when a friend of Digital Media Teacher Mike Blegen came to him with information on Enabling the Future (Enable), an organization of volunteers from around the world dedicated to providing affordable upper limb prosthetics. According to Blegen, once he took the idea to his students, "they were all in."

"I oversaw the 3D printing of the parts for the first run... the students, though, put everything together, including assembling the pieces and attaching the wires, Velcro, bolts, etc."

Generally, a prosthetic hand can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000, and the cost becomes increasingly problematic every time a child outgrows their prosthetic hand. Blegen, however, said his class can make an Enable prosthetic hand for less than $40.

"The first hand was basically a test concept," said Blegen. "Now, we'll get paired with a child who needs a prosthetic and get very specific measurements. At that point, these students will completely take over. They will be creating the 3D elements, printing these out with the 3D printer and assembling the hand.

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