This is Derby and these are Derby’s life-changing, 3D printed prosthetic paws. Derby was born with deformed front legs and had a lot of trouble getting around outside before animal lover and 3D Systems employee Tara Anderson got a team from her work involved. From 3Ders.org:
With the help of her colleagues, 3DS designers, Kevin Atkins and Dave DiPinto, and ABC Certified Orthotist at Animal Ortho Care, Derrick Campana, the team scanned Derby’s forearms and created 3D design of unique prostheses for Derby. They utilized Geomagic Freeform, 3DS’ digital sculpting platform, which allowed them to create perfect organic shapes and smooth curves for Derby’s shape. A few different iterations were experimented with until the birth of the “elbow cups”.
The tailor-made looped design was printed to be rigid in some sections while more flexible in others, guaranteeing a durable yet comfortable puppy-paw fit. When small improvements are made to the design, the team simply prints out a new set of “paws” from the computer files. Look at him run!
Related watching: Josie the chihuahua gets her wheels, a two-legged boxer runs at the beach, one boy’s 3D-printed, “cyborg” hand, and more excellent stories of prosthetics.
Thanks, Monika. via Design Boom.
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