eco brief
Helping Hands
Recycled Plastic Transforms into Prosthetics
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| MarinaGrigorivna/Shutterstock.com |
The emerging technology of three-dimensional (3-D) printing can benefit the world in many ways. Re: Purpose for Good, in Australia, creates robotically 3-D printed prosthetic devices from recycled plastic and e-waste. It’s difficult to customize prosthetics, so more invasive surgery is often needed to make standard sizes fit the patient.
Other companies produce 3-D printed prosthetic hands and arms, but Re:Purpose for Good customizes both hands and feet at a much lower cost.
The company’s robotics and prosthetics engineer Gerardo Montoya, who had been working on 3-D printing prosthetics for children in Mexico, merged the idea with a desire to do something about the 8 million tons of plastic entering the oceans. Along with plastic waste, they also use e-waste such as discarded smartphones that have all the circuitry and microprocessors needed for advanced features.
The company even plans to teach their prosthetic-making process to children as part of their science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) curriculum, so they can learn 3-D printing skills. They’re making it open source so more people can get involved without patent restrictions.