3D-Printer Makes New Arms and Hands for War Victims – Cheaper and Better

A Reconstructive Surgery Hospital in Amman, Jordan is now providing victims of war with prosthetic arms and hands – manufactured by a 3D printer.

Thanks to the latest technologies, a hand takes merely ten hours to construct, and is not only lighter and more comfortable to wear, but significantly cheaper, too. Where a traditional prosthetic hand or arm would cost $600, a 3D-printed one costs no more than $70.

The prosthetic arms and hands also look very realistic and help both adults and children reintegrate into their surroundings. 5-year-old Najam from Yemen, who lost her right hand in a bomb attack, has been adjusting well into her prosthetic hand, which closely matches her skin tone.

“I have continuously expanded the color palette over the past two years,” says Dr. Samar Ismail, a Jordanian physiotherapist working with private aid organization Doctors Without Borders, which founded the hospital. “Now we have the right tone for every wearer.”

The hospital is the only one of its kind in the Middle East to offer reconstructive surgery and orthopedic rehabilitation. Many of the doctors also share the nationalities of their patients, who mainly come from Yemen, the Gaza Strip, Syria and occasionally Iraq.