Monday, 27 July 2015

Irish boy born with just a thumb on his right hand gets Ireland's first 3D printed limb



A 10-year-old boy has become a schoolyard legend after receiving Ireland's first 3D printed hand.
Josh McKenna, from Portarlington Co Laois, was born with just a thumb on his right hand.
A team of students and staff from the Institute of Technology in Tallaght printed Josh a prosthetic hand - transforming the schoolboy's life.

His mum Annette told the Anton Savage Show how she stumbled across the charity E-Noble, who put her and Josh in touch with the team at IT Tallaght.
The American charity provides 3D printed hands for people that need them.
She said that she initially read about the charity in October 2014 and filled out the forms to get Josh on the list - but that after the application, she didn't think anything of it.
Around Christmas, she received a phonecall from Stephen Dignam - a Dublin based-designer - who had been matched with her for the charity.
From there, she said, the process just snowballed.
Stephen spoke to the Anton Savage Show about the experience of working with Josh - calling it 'unbelievable'.
The Dubliner got the 3D printer for a lighting project. Along with his friend Robbie O'Connor, a lecturer at IT Tallaght, they decided to start using the printer to create hands for people who may need them.
The 'Iron Man-style' hand went over a storm with his classmates, according to Annette.
She said: "The first morning he wore it into school, he just walked into the classroom, gave a little wave with it and said:' Hiya lads'.
"Josh is very laid-back. He just loves it, and the other kids love it in school."

Culled

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