The price of prosthetic limbs in the United States is a bit ridiculous. As mentioned in the video, prosthetic arms can easily cost anywhere between $20,000 and $100,000 and for legs, between $10,000 and $70,000. Although insurance companies cover prosthetics, they often exclude children. Many insurance companies aren’t willing to pay for child prosthetics because of the rapid growth children undergo when they’re young. Children usually need a refitting at least every year until they're 18. These children are denied prosthetics in a time of their lives when they are most susceptible to the ridicule and harassment others. Can you imagine being born without or losing a limb and having no way to afford a prosthetic one?
According to John C. Racy, even though children are better able to physically adapt to prosthetics than adults, the emotional effects of limb loss are greater in children. Because children often have no access to decent prosthetics or none at all, they may have to live completely without a limb. This increases the likelihood of depression and other mental illnesses. Racy states that “peer acceptance beyond the family is critical”. Without it, children will often be left unable to cope with their disability. Fortunately, with the rise in consumer level 3D printing, people are able to design and manufacture their own 3D printed limbs.
A 3D printed limb can cost as little as $100, a far leap from tradition prosthetics and on top of that, 3D printing allows designers to rapidly tailor each prosthetic to the individual. This means as children grow, their prosthetics can be remade to grow with them. Their old prosthetics can even be recycled to create their new one. Not only does 3D printing give children access to prosthetics, but they can be designed to fit the child’s personality at no additional cost. If a kid loves Iron Man, they can get a 3D printed Iron Man arm. If a kid loves Transformers, they can get a 3D printed Optimus Prime arm. Because of 3D printing, children have access to low-cost prosthetics that they can be proud of and will want to show off to their peers.
The best part is that anyone with a 3D printer can contribute and give a child an arm or leg. Visit The Collective Project for more information on how you can help. If you are able to use 3D design software, you can also design prosthetics for children. For other community projects that focus on 3D printed prosthetics visit Enabling The Future. I’ll definitely be using my 3D printer for projects like these in the future.
