July 24, 2015 | By Alec
All young boys dream of being sports stars or even super heroes, but those dreams become increasingly unrealistic if you miss a limb. Those children are often forced to grow up far too quickly. Fortunately a number of 3D printing initiatives have been doing wonderful work by providing those children with affordable or even free prosthetics to help them be kids for a while longer. And with a bit of star power, that whole experience becomes even more magical. That’s why Limbitless Solutions, a 3D printing initiative that seeks to provide kids with free bionic limbs, teamed up with Brazilian soccer star Kaká to give a custom bionic hand to the six year old Paulo Costa Boa Nova.
Limbitless was already well aware of what a bit of star power can do, as they previously worked with Robert Downy jr. (aka. Iron Man) to give a similar 3D printed bionic arm to seven-year-old Alex Pring. But depending on your passion, a visit from Brazilian soccer star Kaká is even more amazing. Having played for illustrious teams as Real Madrid and AC Milan (and the Brazilian national team) and winning prizes wherever he went, Kaká is currently the captain of the Orlando City Lions. It’s therefore hardly surprising that Limbitless, who are affiliated with University of Central Florida, collaborated with him.
Last week, the Brazilian super star met with Paulo Costa Boa Nova, who was born with a genetic condition that affected the growth of his right arm and hand. Selected from hundreds of applications, Limbitless chose him as a recipient of a custom 3D printed hand. Limbitless, as you might now, does fantastic work in building bionics that match a child’s own anatomy and personality. Run by students, they work free of charge and finance their work through fundraising.
For the young soccer fan, they designed a prosthetic that sports the emblem and colors of the Brazilian soccer club Fluminense FC from Rio de Janeiro. The bionic itself was 3D printed on the high quality Stratasys Dimension Elite 3D Printer in ABS filament in a matter of hours. The printer itself had been donated to Limbitless by Stratasys. Paulo and his father were invited to the training camp of Orlando City to receive the hand from Kaká. Also present at the presentation was Alex Pring, and the two boys immediately compared arms.
As the boy’s father Claudio Boa Nova explained, this 3D printed bionic will make a huge difference in his son’s life. ‘I don’t have the words for how grateful we are,’ he says on the Stratasys website. ‘When I saw the arms they made on YouTube, I held onto hope for the opportunity for my son. I can’t believe that today his dream has come true. We would like to visit schools in Brazil and tell them about 3D printing. We can use Paulo’s prosthetic hand as a way for the kids understand the importance of technology, and how technology can change lives.’
Of course, the entire 3D printing community is proud and impressed by the work of Limbitless, but this was also emphasized by the dean of UCF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, Dr. Michael Georgiopoulos. As he told Stratasys, [Limbitless founder Albert ] Manero and the team of students who volunteer in the Limbitless Solutions lab are an inspiration to the entire school community. It encourages women to be a part of STEM and allows for creativity while making something that will change the lives of these children.’
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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