The technology, which has nothing to do with a transplant, is inexpensive and fun, and is intended for children born with a deformed limb.
Source AFPPublished on - Modified onLink copiedCopy linkMaxence is six years old and was born without a right hand. He will be equipped on Monday with a 3D printed hand prosthesis, an inexpensive and fun technology but which does not benefit from any medical approval. Since 2013, an American foundation, e-NABLE, has launched a philanthropic network of a particular kind: connecting people with 3D printers with families with children who are missing fingers or a hand. Already more than 1,500 prostheses have been supplied via the platform. “That's how we were put in contact with Thierry Oquidam. He had already produced this type of prosthesis for children abroad on a voluntary basis and he wanted to benefit a child in France, ”Told AFP Maxence’s father, Éric Contegal.
Maxence is one of the few hundred children who are born each year in France with a malformation of one or more limbs. In his case, it is agenesis, absence of formation of a limb during embryonic development. Since his birth, this little boy from Cessieu (Isère), halfway between Lyon and Grenoble, has managed "to find solutions on his own" to live without a right hand. His parents have also made the choice "not to pair him with a medical prosthesis".
This 3D prosthesis will therefore allow him to experiment with new things. Very easy to use, it does not require any operation: it attaches with Velcro and is as simple to use as a glove. “He will have a hand colored in the colors of his choice, of superheroes [with a large “M” above for “superMax”, NDLR], which he can remove as he pleases. It will be fun for him in the playground with his friends, ”explains his mother, Virginie, to AFP.
50 euros
“It is the flexion of the wrist that will force the [artificial] hand and the fingers to bend by pulling on the tendons. This mechanism, super simple, does not allow you to do very precise things like tying your shoelaces but allows you to do annoying things to do when you don't have fingers like the swing, the scooter or catch a ball, "explains its manufacturer Thierry Oquidam, interviewed by AFP. The interest, according to him, is really the “fun” side for the children who have more the impression of dressing up, rather than putting on an “ugly” prosthesis like those provided by the traditional medical circuit. Not to mention its manufacturing cost: less than 50 euros. A crucial element for the child who will have to change the prosthesis several times during his growth. And if it breaks, the family can repair it directly using a locally available printer.
All nevertheless relativize the scope of such a prosthesis. “The optics is to say that he will have an additional tool. But we don't know if he will use it a lot, ”analyzes his dad. Moreover, family as manufacturer do not hide it: “There is no medical approval behind. Asked by AFP, Professor Charles Msika of the French society of orthopedic and traumatological surgery (Sofcot) believes that "the 3D prosthesis already has the advantage of allowing to see if it satisfies the needs of the child before the manufacture”.
For parents, the objective is simply to improve the daily lives of their children and the perception of others. And Maxence's experience could allow others to benefit from it in France, via the association of people affected by agenesis (Assedea). “This is not a first in France. I myself am a little surprised at the magnitude of this thing. “It is simply” the first hand that my association distributes in France “, underlines the computer scientist. It's not "revolutionary" but, "in the same way that Uber has completely changed the way taxis are used, in the same way that LeBonCoin has completely changed the game of classifieds in the space of two years, 3D printing is completely changing the approach of certain professions, particularly in the medical field,” he concludes.
