Giving Children a Hand is a School Project - And Then Some - For Chester County Students
By KYW tech editor Ian Bush
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) --- Two kids born with only one hand each are getting a complete set -- they're being fitted with 3-D printed robotic prosthetics designed by students at Westtown School in Chester County.
Moments after strapping in place her left hand for the first time, six-year-old Joy Baffone wrapped her fingers and palm around a ball, an Oreo -- even high-fived and fist-bumped.
Joy's verdict? "It's good."
Her mom is a bit more effusive.
"For her to be able to do some things that she hasn't been able to, by the generosity of Westtown School and the kids that donated their time -- lots of time -- it's amazing," says Kathleen.
Westtown seniors Casey Dech, Alex Nunes, and Xan Lorimer -- under the guidance of faculty advisor Steve Compton -- created a mechanically-activated hand for Joy, printed using the 3-D facility at Nemours DuPont Pediatrics.
Casey: "It started in our design and engineering course."
Alex: "And it turned into a multi-year independent project."
Casey: "We're doing something good with our time here, and that means the world to us."
"The user activates it by pushing forward the palm and causing tension to pull the fingers closed," explains Nunes. "When they release the wrist, elastics pull the finger back to the open position."
They also have a hand for nine-year-old Steele Songle: his has sensors that read electrical signals from his muscles.
"With this digitally-activated one, we have sensors that we attach to Steele's arm," says Lorimer. "The signals will control motors inside of the hand, so he'll essentially be controlling the hand with his mind. This sort of thing allows for individual fingers to be activated."
A hand controlled by muscle signals usually costs, as Lorimer says, "a ridiculous amount of money. But the system that I've developed is probably less than $200, and I've made all the code open source online, so anyone can replicate my results."
Steele: "I am excited and happy about it, too."
Steele -- a second-grader at Westtown -- says he's looking forward to holding a lacrosse stick, a golf club, even shooting a basketball with two hands. His mom, Ellen, can't wait.
"I get emotional every time I think about it," she says. "Just to give him the opportunity to have something that would allow him to do anything -- he can't tie his shoe right now, and he's a second grader -- it's so meaningful. These students are learning something, but it's also making a meaning in other people's lives. It's unbelievable."