An administrative assistant at the Quinnipiac University medical school recently received a free 3-D printed arm that was custom made by a Yale engineering student.
“I love how lightweight it is. The actual design of it, it’s genius,” said Jillian Accetta, who was born with a limb difference. Her right arm ends at the elbow.
“I like that it can come on and off so quickly and easily. It doesn't feel like I have to commit to an external appendage, that’s too heavy to walk around with.”
Accetta said her previous prosthetic cost $70,000 dollars, paid for by her family’s insurance. It looked, and felt, like a military weapon, she said.
“I found in prosthetics there's one of two goals: it's either function or image,” she said. “So you can either pick between looking anatomically correct or normal, as they say, or you can find something that's more functional, but it weighs up to five pounds and they don't even let you through airports with it sometimes, because of the massive amounts of electronics.”
Accetta’s experience resonates with parents of children born with a limb difference.
“Most limb-different people end up using MacGyvered tools and orthotics instead of prosthetics, because their goal is function over form,” said Dr. Neha Jain, whose son was born with a limb difference – one arm ends at his elbow. “The two tools he has used most were a simple orthotic crafted with plaster, that gave him the extra length to balance his arm on the bike, and a tool his music teacher crafted from a length of pipe and some elastic bands from Home Depot, that allows him to use a drumstick in his left hand and play drums two handed.”
Jain explained that her son prefers to do most tasks one-handed because prosthetics are often too heavy, incorrectly sized and cumbersome.
“People and amputations vary by size, limb, side, level of amputation, and usage – all of which may need customization, which has expanded significantly since 3D printing has come into popular use.”
Accetta’s new arm cost less than $150 and was designed and printed at Yale by Alexia Quinn, a student of personalized medicine and applied engineering.
“Seeing Jillian wear and use the arm has been incredibly rewarding,” Quinn said. “Throughout the project, every decision was driven by her experiences, feedback and daily needs. So watching the whole project come to life and actually being used in her daily life is really meaningful.”
Accetta’s arm comes with multiple attachments, and she and Quinn have named them all. There’s the “church hand” for going out. “The thumb” to type at work. And “the squid” to grip the steering wheel.
“I’m not sure how much more bespoke an arm can get,” Acceta said.
The end result was the outcome of months of collaboration.
Quinn’s goal was to reinforce the importance of designing with patients, not just for them, “to truly make an impact and change at least one aspect of their lives and provide something that they couldn’t do before which makes it all worth it.”
Quinn graduated this summer and now works at the Mayo Clinic. She said Accetta has an open invitation to call her anytime she needs a new piece printed for her arm.
