Wisconsin eighth-graders create prosthetic hand using 3-D printer
Eighth-graders in St. Francis are literally giving a helping hand to a California girl.
Robin Roberts told 6-year-old Ariah's story earlier this week on YouTube. She was born without most of her right hand.
A prosthetic hand can cost up to $50,000, but a Wisconsin classroom was able to create one for roughly $20.
Working with a nonprofit company called E-Nable, students at Deer Creek Middle School created a hand using 3-D printing technology.
"It's just basically a layer of small, thin-line plastic," teacher Peter Graven said. "It goes back and forth until it has the layers built up."
The school is one of the only middle schools in the state with a 3-D printer. Graven said robotics lab students worked on the project during free time and lunch hours to produce the hand with about $20 worth of materials.
It took about 24 hours for the hand to print.
Graven is amazed by what his eighth-graders are doing compared to what he did at their age.
"What I did in eighth grade? It was like using a TI-83 computer," he said.
The students focused in on Ariah's love of the movie "Frozen" and created a working hand for "Queen Ariah."
"I saw Ariah opening up her hand, and it made her so excited," student Lauren Johns said. "It's just heartwarming to know that just one piece of equipment could make somebody so happy."
"I wanted to cry when I saw that," student Georgia Hancock said. "She's just so adorable."
Johns and Hancock said the project will influence their career choices. Johns would like to become a physical therapist, Hancock an engineer.
"Just to know we did something for someone, that's going to change her life and help her so much," Hancock said. "That's awesome."
To watch Robin Roberts' "Future of Health" report for WebMD, click here