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Carpenter Who Cut Off His Fingers Makes "Robohand" With 3-D Printer
mpicpp (3454017) writes with the ultimate DIY story about a carpenter in South Africa who lost his fingers in an accident, and now runs a company that makes mechanical prosthetics with 3D printing technology. "'I was in a position to see exactly what happens in the human hand. I got the basics of what it's all about and thought yeah, I'll make my own.' Richard van As is recalling the moment in May 2011 when he sat in a Johannesburg hospital waiting to hear if his fingers could be stitched back on. Just an hour earlier, he had been in his carpentry workshop sawing wood when the saw slipped and ripped diagonally through the four fingers on his right hand....After days of scouring the Internet he couldn't find anywhere to buy a functional prosthetic finger and he was astonished at the cost of prosthetic hands and limbs which began in the tens of thousands of dollars. But his online surfing paid off as it brought him to an amateur video posted by a mechanical effects artist in Washington State, by the name of Ivan Owen. Together, the pair developed a mechanical finger for van As, but their partnership has also gone on to benefit countless hand and arm amputees around the globe, through the birth of the company "Robohand." Officially launched in January 2012, Robohand creates affordable mechanical prosthetics through the use of 3D printers. Not only that, but it has made its designs open source, so that anyone with access to such printers can print out fingers, hands and now arms as well.'"
I know a guy who did something similar but they saved the fingers. He ripped through 3 fingers and split the thumb halfway up. The scars lined up rather wincingly, I mean convincingly.
Anyway, the best joke in Family Guy's Blue Harvest is removed in reruns.
At the end, Luke, sitting with robot finishing his new robot hand: Can I try it out?
Robot doctor: I'd try it on a hot dog first.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Anything to bring down the scandalously high prices of some of these medical gizmos. Next, glasses. Hearing aids.
Mostly random stuff.
a good deal of the cost of these things is the FDA certification
If there's no surgery, it's just a object - a tool, an item of functional clothing, more-or-less. I'd be surprised and annoyed to find out that any kind of certification was legally required for something like this.
Or that is at least the popular excuse of companies that make prosthetics.
There's also the fact that they actually are traditionally expensive to make and fit.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Handyman give medical prosthesis companies the finger.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Once the fingers are lost, no prosthetic will be as good as the original. Why not let a "prosthetic" hand take the injury in the first place? As a bonus you have the intact, unmaimed hand to drive the actuators on the device. Use the sacrificial hands for dangerous work around saws and such. It could be like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Toysmith-833-12-Robot-Hand-18/dp/B000ID1DU0
But better... If it was good enough people would use it out of habit. Old school special effects guys used cable setups to animate puppets in live action scenes, sometimes down to the individual fingers.
According to this limb prosthetic, unless very different in technology, are exempt;
This section states that these devices are exempt from premarket approval or [WWW]510(k) requirements, except as provided in [WWW]21CFR890.9, which allows this exemption as long as the new device has "existing or reasonably foreseeable characteristics of commercially distributed devices within that generic type," it is intended for the same use and the same user type as existing products, and the device operates on the same fundamental scientific technology.
If there's no surgery, it's just a object - a tool, an item of functional clothing, more-or-less
Not entirely true. Contact lenses for example are all regulated. As is pretty much anything that performs any sort of medical exam or diagnostic that a medical practitioner relies on to make a diagnosis or treatment decision.
There's also the fact that they actually are traditionally expensive to make and fit.
They are also generally each one manufactured to order.
They also tend to be loaded with patents and royalties for everything from the design to the specifics of the materials.
The cost of custom prosthetic may also presume more than one may be required to refine the fit after you've worn it for a while, or to get the fit just right.
The doctor may then take the now very high cost of the the item and build in his time to fit, assess, and follow up with you into the price of the item inflating it even higher.
So the $thousands$ you pay for "an X" might actually cover "as many Xs as it takes to get it right plus all the doctors time working with you to get it right"
But better... If it was good enough people would use it out of habit.
Unfortunately all attempts at making remote manipulation devices both mechanical and electronic have resulted in things that are far more cumbersome than using your hands directly. The human arm and hand is an amazingly good maniupulator with extremely good feedback so it can grasp something firmly without damaging it.
There is usually a way to clamp the workpeice and keep your fingers out of harms way but it's slower and more cumbersome than just holding it and people have a nasty habit of getting overconfident in the own ability to not slip up.
note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
Why not let a "prosthetic" hand take the injury in the first place?
Yes, it's called a push stick. It takes about five minutes to make one.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
No need to kid. I believe it is time to nationalize the healthcare system, no matter how realistic that may or may not be. I think we could just shovel money from the back of a pickup truck burning whale oil and still come out cheaper.
Why is national healthcare "unrealistic"? It works for plenty of countries. Heck, when we set up the new government in Iraq it had national healthcare. It may be difficult in the US for political reasons (healthcare companies contribute oceans of money to politicians, and they're not terribly interested in efficiency or outcomes, just profits), but since it demonstrably can be done, and works well, it's entirely "realistic".
Enable 3D printed prosthetics!