Comments on: 3D-Printed "Magic Arms"

3D-Printed "Magic Arms"

Foci for Analysis — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:03:23 -0800

Two-year-old Emma wanted to play with blocks, but a condition called arthrogryposis meant she couldn't move her arms. So researchers at a Delaware hospital 3D printed a durable custom exoskeleton with the tiny, lightweight parts she needed.

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:09:26 -0800

Cannot stop smiling. Science is so incredibly awesome.

By: chavenet

chavenet — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:12:55 -0800

I think my eye has printed a 3D something.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:15:00 -0800

We've had 3D printing for a number of years, I've always viewed it as a novelty. This gives the technology a reason for being... This will make you smile, but keep the kleenex handy too....

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:27:01 -0800

Damn. How cool is that?

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:28:07 -0800

a) I thought I saw LEGO in there. b) So much for the theory that you can't hug a child with nuclear arms, as long as the child wants to hug you back.

By: Benny Andajetz

Benny Andajetz — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:31:23 -0800

Simple. Elegant. Perfect. This is what humans are capable of when they put their minds to it.

By: MonkeyToes

MonkeyToes — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:34:58 -0800

What a beautiful and meaningful meeting of technology and the human spirit. Thank you for posting this, Foci for Analysis.

By: MartinWisse

MartinWisse — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:41:31 -0800

Sometimes I love living in the future.

By: Mezentian

Mezentian — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:49:57 -0800

Suddenly I am at peace with my lack of moonbase or flying car.

By: mhoye

mhoye — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:51:37 -0800

"Scientists use 3-D printer to give disabled girl working exoskeleton arms" is a real thing that can happen in 2012. SO GREAT. But, man, if you think IP law is crazytimes now, wait until easy 3-D printing drops below the $200 price point.

By: Mezentian

Mezentian — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:55:31 -0800

Just wait until you can print a working done for <US$200.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:04:31 -0800

I like this much better than the flying/crawling military robot inventions.

By: kinnakeet

kinnakeet — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:04:54 -0800

Thank you for posting this. I am moved, delighted and joyous all at once... if only for the wonders this portends. (And the schlock too, but hey--half full, right?)

By: djrock3k

djrock3k — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:24:50 -0800

Thanks for the morning cry, Foci for Analysis. This is why I am an optimist, We can be a pretty amazing species when we put our hearts to it.

By: Palquito

Palquito — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:41:17 -0800

Well, that cleaned out the old tear ducts. Seriously, though, how do the arms work? It doesn't look like a powered scifi-y exoskeleton. Is it just springs/rubber bands, or do the frames hold her arms in a certain position that she couldn't achieve on her own?

By: Enron Hubbard

Enron Hubbard — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:46:19 -0800

It looks like she doesn't have the muscle strength necessary to lift her arms. The rubber bands pull enough to cancel out her arm's weight.

By: RobotVoodooPower

RobotVoodooPower — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:52:08 -0800

It looks like the device on which this is based, WREX, is a unpowered exoskeleton thingie that just stabilizes and supports your limbs. It's meant for wheelchairs, so heavy. The plastic version is light, portable and awesome. Likely the use of device is going to improve her brain development as well. Not to be a Debbie Downer, but mhoye is right that cool medical hacks like this are at risk from the patent system, as in the previously-mentioned speech therapy app that is literally silencing a little girl who otherwise would be able to speak.

By: tulip-socks

tulip-socks — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 07:54:23 -0800

And Emma is a lefty! The moment where the researcher was talking about Emma's first sentence, and I heard the catch in his voice. That is where I cried.

By: CaseyB

CaseyB — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 08:23:10 -0800

Is it just springs/rubber bands, or do the frames hold her arms in a certain position that she couldn't achieve on her own? I'm guessing that it basically provides "neutral buoyancy" to her arms, so that she doesn't have to use strength to lift them, but only to move them away from the default position, which requires much less force.

By: Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner

Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:06:21 -0800

This is pretty freaking awesome. Good for little Emma, and good for the technicians & doctors who figured out to build the thing!

By: Zed

Zed — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:43:04 -0800

And this is how the Mecha pilots of the future get their start...

By: mochapickle

mochapickle — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:22:39 -0800

This is so rad. I started tearing up ten seconds in but I managed to hold it together until her mom said, "She calls them her magic arms."

By: homunculus

homunculus — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 23:49:26 -0800

cool medical hacks like this are at risk from the patent system, as in the previously-mentioned speech therapy app that is literally silencing a little girl who otherwise would be able to speak. A couple of updates to that story: The Silencing of Maya Irreparable Harm

By: Librarygeek

Librarygeek — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:03:31 -0800

I checked out Maya's page and learnt that Speak for yourself is now available for Android<> :) Maya's mom talks about meeting the developers at a conference and links to the announcement. Evidently it is still not available via the Apple store and the developers are still battling that issue. Unfortunatly Android devices are missing some of the hardware elements that Maya needs.