A wonderful story emerged last week when Stratasys published the story of Emma, a young girl with congenital biomechanical problems. She was unable to raise food to her mouth, among other issues.The story told how Emma’s doctors used 3D printing technology (from Stratasys) to produce a custom-fit armature that fits around Emma’s upper body to assist her arm movements. In the video you’ll see Emma moving objects with ease through the use of the armature.
This was only possible through the use of 3D printing, which permits instant production of the required Emma-sized pieces. Evidently Emma has outgrown one armature already. To replace it her parents merely ask the doctors to print out newly sized pieces, which they do by adjusting the dimensions of the 3D model.
But there’s another story here. Stratasys’s founder, Scott Crump, says it best:
I recently saw a news report saying one of the reasons young women aren’t likely to pursue engineering careers is because they believe they wouldn’t be directly helping anyone. This is an unfortunate perception. We regularly see examples of how everyday heroes make products that keep civilization running and improve it.
and
Throughout August, the Stratasys communication team plans to call attention to some of the ways 3D printing improves lives.
3D printing is a tool that can be used for many purposes.
Let’s do good things with it.
