The average cost of a prosthetic leg can be between $5,000 and $50,000, and they are designed to be replaced every three to five years, according to ABC News. For a prosthetic upper limb, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates a total 5-year cost between $31,129 and $117,440. For children who are growing, the limbs would have to be replaced more often.
However, a 3-D printer can provide functional hands at between $20 and $50, according to the New York Times. E-nable, an online volunteer organization, matches children in need of limbs with volunteers able to make them on 3-D printers. The fingers on the prosthetic hands are controlled by cable “tendons,” which are controlled by flexing the wrist.
Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore partnered with E-nable in September to host a 3-D printing conference, and has since begun printing free prosthetic devices for children.
“Anyone can get one of these hands — it doesn’t matter what insurance or health provider you have,” Albert Chi, MD, an assistant professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine, told the New York Times. “To be able to provide such a functional tool for anyone with congenital hand or limb loss, it kind of brings you to tears a little bit.”
