Young Boy Gets A Dragon Hand as Prosthetic Limb

Since its inception, 3D printing technology has been a godsend for prototyping work. What initially took days to develop a new part, can now be done in an hour or two. Depending on the print size of a printer, you can create just about anything, and in the comfort of your own home.

Waterman, a webcast infrastructure architect in Intel’s Information Technology Group in Hillsboro, Oregon, utilized 3D printing for a noble cause. Henry Hunker is a young boy, who was born with an under developed hand. As is in most schooling environments, Henry was teased by his classmates for being different.

What came as second nature to most kids, for Henry, mastering something through the use of this right hand, required a little more effort. But that was until Waterman made him a prosthetic hand. It helped him compensate for this disability, and allow the young boy to experience the dexterity of working with both hands.

That was six years ago. Now, Waterman has made Henry a less conventional one for added ‘street credibility’. The 8-year-old, wanted something a little more interesting this time around, and the Intel architect did not disappoint. Take a look at this touching video of his experience and witness for yourself how impactful simple 3D printing work can be for certain people.

In a completely unrelated note, e-NABLE is an online global community of volunteers from all over the world who use 3D printers to make free and low-cost prosthetic upper limb devices for children and adults in need. These are open source designs, developed for people who were born with missing fingers and hands or lost them due to an accident, war or illness. Visit E-NABLE’s page to learn more about the imitative.