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The Pros of Printed Prosthetics

Sydney Maciejewski

Purdue University
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Abstract

3D printing is a process that uses thin layers of plastic, stacked one on top of another, to

create 3D objects. It made its appearance in the world of medicine in the field of prosthetics.

This new technology offers solutions to the traditional alternative. E-Nable, an online community

of prosthetic designers, give the public access to their designs so that anyone with 3D printing

access can create a prosthetic. For children who grow out of prosthetics very quickly, this

technology offers them an opportunity to always have a prosthetic that fits correctly. For

veterans and others with specific needs, 3D printing gives hope with its customization and quick

production. While there are downsides to the current process and materials being used, new

research and development resolves these issues.

Introduction

Prosthetics have been changing the lives of the injured and disabled for centuries. A

prosthetic limb has the power to make an amputee feel as though they had never lost that limb in

the first place. There is no denying that prosthetics change lives for the better, but what happens

when a prosthetic limb is unattainable? What is a person to do when they simply can’t afford a

prosthetic or when a child grows out of one too fast to keep replacing it? A solution to all of

these problems is on the rise. 3D printing is an upcoming piece of technology that can

revolutionize the medical field and the world of prosthetics. 3D printed prosthetics are an

affordable, customizable, and timely solution to the problems that come with traditional

prosthetics.

The History of 3D Printing

The first 3D printer was patented in 1986 by Charles Hull. He developed a method of

printing called “stereolithography.” In “3D Printed Prosthetics Roll off the Press,”
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stereolithography is described as a process that “uses a highly focused (via lenses and mirrors)

UV laser to trace out (solidify) cross sections of a 3D object in a vat of liquid photoactive

polymer” (p. 29). While this sounds very complicated, 3D printing has largely had a reputation

of being a “do-it-yourself” technology. Anybody with access to a 3D printer and computer

software has the capability of using this technology. The process of 3D printing is relatively

simple. First, the user creates a design in computer aided design (CAD) software. This file can

then be sent to the printer to be transformed into a physical product. The printer dispenses thin

layers of material, usually a plastic, one on top of another until a 3D object is formed. In

“Designing the 3D Printed Prosthetic Hand,” Elmansy says, “3D printing allows designers and

manufacturers to convert CAD computer models to three-dimensional products. Bypassing the

traditional heavy machinery, 3D printers use desktop printers and additive manufacturing

technologies to produce a final product” (2015). This illustrates the availability of 3D printing to

the general public. No heavy machinery or factory is needed to create functional products; it can

all be done on a desktop from home.

Quite recently, 3D printing has found its way into the medical field, one of the most

prominent applications being in prosthetics. With a “do-it-yourself” attitude, many of the

prosthetics in use today are a result of the collaboration of artists, carpenters, and parents who

saw a need and decided to act upon it. Amputee Coalition tells the story of Liam, a young boy

who utilizes the first ever 3D printed hand. In the spirit of collaboration, e-Nable “an online

community where anyone can help collaborate on 3D printed prosthesis designs and get help

printing and assembling their own” (“3D Printed Prosthetics,” 2019) was created to encourage

others to pursue this path in prosthetics. Besides the sense of community that has developed
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among those in this line of work, there are other benefits to 3D printing prosthetics that are

aimed more towards the good of the patient.

The Benefits of 3D-Printed Prosthetics

The benefits of 3D printing a prosthetic far outweigh those of buying a traditional

prosthetic. This is especially true for children who outgrow prosthetics rapidly. During a child’s

years of growth, a prosthetic may need to be replaced as often as every six months. The expenses

of this demand tend to be too much for the family to handle, and as a result, the child is left with

a prosthetic that does not fit correctly. Jorge Zuniga explains this situation further in “Cyborg

beast: a low-cost 3d-printed prosthetic hand for children with upper-limb differences.”

Children’s prosthetic needs are complex due to their small size, constant growth, and

psychosocial development. Familial financial resources play a crucial role in prescription

of prostheses for children, especially when private insurance and public funding are

insufficient. Most upper-limb prostheses include a terminal device, with the objective to

replace the missing hand or fingers. The cost of a body-powered prosthetic hand ranges

from $4,000 to $20,000... but the cost of maintenance and replacement represents an

obstacle for many families... Currently, the most cost-effective option for pediatric

populations is a passive prosthetic hook; although functional, these devices have a high

rejection rate, in part due to an unacceptable cosmetic appearance (2015).

Zuniga describes how a traditional prosthetic can cost thousands of dollars, but also raises the

issue of how aesthetics affects the retention rate of pediatric prosthetics. As a child, if a

prosthetic is not comfortable, no matter how realistic it may look, the child will not want to wear

it, resulting is the abandonment of the prosthetic all together and a waste of financial resources.

In a separate article from Ian Birrell titled, “3D-printed prosthetic limbs: the next revolution in
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medicine,” Zuniga recounts how he was able to observe the importance of being able to grab

objects to his 4-year-old son’s development. This led to Zungia’s development of a 3D-printed

prosthetic hand called “Cyborg Beast” whose design was aided by the preferences and

imagination of his son. Cyborg Beast is the solution to several of the problems associated with

traditional pediatric prosthetics. Zungia’s model can be produced cheaply, using 3D printing,

eliminating the financial burden that comes with having to replace a child’s prosthetic so often. It

is also composed of brightly colored material, and visually looks like a robot’s hand. This is

important to children who will view this prosthetic as a toy, increasing the retention rate of the

prosthetic’s usage. Most importantly though, this prosthetic, along with all other 3D printed

prosthetics, is customizable, and is designed with each specific patient’s needs in mind and can

be created in a time-efficient, cost-effective manner.

As mentioned earlier, 3D printed prosthetics have created a community of people looking

to help those who would not normally have access to traditional prosthetics. E-Nable is a

network of people who have uploaded their prosthetic designs for others to use and improve.

This database of blueprints has created a new degree of customizability to prosthetics. In

“Advances in 3D-Printed Pediatric Prostheses for Upper Extremity Differences,” Kara S. Tanaka

explains:

Printing a prosthesis starts by downloading an open-source design file from the Internet

and scaling the model to fit the recipient... Customization can be done using computer-

aided design (CAD) software such as AutoCAD (Autodesk) or SOLIDWORKS (Dassault

Systèmes). Scaling and layout of parts is easily done with the programs provided by the

printer companies or with independent programs such as Slic3r (slic3r.org). Parts can be
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printed in a wide spectrum of colored filament feedstocks that can be transparent, opaque,

fluorescent, glow in the dark, or metallic (2016).

It is incredibly simple to customize one of these online files to fit a patient. This kind of timely

customization is unattainable with traditional prosthetics. The easy customization and quick

production of 3D-printed prosthetics can also have a positive psychological effect on those that

experience very specific disabilities and feel hopeless in their situation.

Veterans across the country suffer from the loss of limbs quite frequently. Often their

injuries are very specific and require prosthetics that cater to their very specific needs. The

customization that 3D printing offers a solution to their problems. Not only can 3D printing offer

the specificity that each patient needs, it can create a solution within days when a traditional

prosthetic could take weeks or even months to make. This has enormous benefits on the patient’s

mindset. In her 2018 article, Sarah Anderson Goehrke states, “What’s important here is not only

the physical capability that we enable, but also the psychological effect that they are able to do

something they could not do yesterday.” A traditional prosthetic limb could never be created in

such a short amount of time with the amount of specificity needed in some of these cases. The

ability to quickly 3D print a prosthetic gives the patient to perform activities that they never

thought they would be able to. This brings hope to patients, something that is invaluable to

recovery. Although 3D printing has brought enormous benefits to the field of prosthetics and the

lives of those who use them, there are still advances yet to be made.

Shortcomings of 3D-Printed Prosthetics

As of right now, most 3D-printed prosthetics are made of plastic. While this works for

most prosthetics, some argue that this material is just not durable enough to make a long-lasting

prosthetic. Heidi Reidel explains, “3D printed prosthetics are created by thin layers of hot plastic,
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so when pulled the wrong way, they can break very easily” (2017). While this may be true, the

prosthetics made of these plastics are cheap enough and easy enough to make that recreating a

prosthetic every few years is not a pressing issue. Another downside to 3D printed prosthetics is

that there are very few designs for legs and feet. The Amputee Coalition reasons that this is

because “most 3D printing plastics commercially available aren’t strong enough to support body

weight” (“3D Printed Prosthetics,” 2019). A solution to this problem is likely to arise though, as

new research into stronger materials is being conducted all the time. Already, some 3D printers

are capable of printing with lightweight titanium that will make these prosthetics considerably

more durable. Research is also being conducted into a new material called Filaflex, a material

that is both durable and flexible (Reidel, 2017). With new materials being invented so quickly,

there is soon to be no downside to 3D printing prosthetics.

Conclusion

3D printing began as a technology meant for crafting and creating. With the vision of

several ambitious individuals, it has grown to have the capability of doing good in the lives of

those in need of prosthetics. 3D printing has created a community of people who wish to do good

for others. It has also created a solution for many of the problems associated with traditional

prosthetics. The inexpensive, quick and customizable features that are the key aspects of this

technology has made prosthetics more accessible and retainable for children, who grow out of

prosthetics quickly. It has also made a world of difference in the mindsets of veterans, whose

needs tend to be very specific. 3D-printed prosthetics have given hope to hopeless patients and

have changed countless lives for the better.

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References

Anderson Goehrke, S. (2018, April 17). 3D Printing for Prosthetics and Social Impact: Going In-

Depth with Stratasys and the VA. Retrieved from https://3dprint.com/208879/stratasys-

va-prosthetics-interview/.

Bhatia, S. K. (2014). 3D-Printed Prosthetics Roll Off the Presses. Retrieved from

https://www.aiche.org/sites/default/files/cep/051428.pdf.

Birrell, I. (2017, February 19). 3D-printed prosthetic limbs: the next revolution in medicine.

Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/19/3d-printed-

prosthetic-limbs-revolution-in-medicine.

Elmansy, R. (2015, July 23). Designing the 3D‐Printed Prosthetic Hand. Retrieved from

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/drev.10311.

Reidel, H. (2019, September 16). The Successes and Failures of 3D Printed Prosthetics -

PreScouter - Custom Intelligence from a Global Network of Experts. Retrieved from

https://www.prescouter.com/2017/07/3d-printed-prosthetics/.

Tanaka, K. S., & Lightdale-Miric, N. (2016, August 3). Advances in 3D-Printed Pediatric

Prostheses for Upper... : JBJS. Retrieved from

https://journals.lww.com/jbjsjournal/Fulltext/2016/08030/Advances_in_3D_Printed_Pedi

atric_Prostheses_for.12.aspx.

Zuniga1, J., Katsavelis1, D., Peck2, J., Stollberg3, J., Petrykowski1, M., & Fernandez4, C.

(2015, January 20). Cyborg beast: a low-cost 3d-printed prosthetic hand for children with

upper-limb differences. Retrieved from

https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13104-015-0971-9.
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3D Printed Prosthetics Where We Are Today. (2019, March 26). Retrieved from

https://www.amputee-coalition.org/3d-printed-prosthetics/.