Eleven-year-old Hayden Thomas enjoys playing tennis with his sister Madilynn. He can even serve the ball, thanks in part to a novel exercise program incorporating use of a body-powered 3D-printed prosthetic hand.
Designed to help patients better manage everyday tasks, the program offers hope for more convenient, cost-effective therapy options for children with congenital upper limb deficiencies.
Hayden’s mom, physical therapist Amanda Thomas in the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences, and her Doctor of Physical Therapy students created the at-home program in which Hayden’s strength, range of motion and coordination improved markedly. His 3D-printed hand was created at FIU’s Miami Beach Urban Studios, and the pattern for the adult-sized hand was modified with assistance from university biomedical engineers.
Thomas’s study has received global interest since its publication in the Journal of Hand Therapy.