Share to ClassroomScientist First to Get Full Bionic Arm
A 43-year-old physicist from the Bronx, Praveen Gowtham, is the first person in the world to get a full-length 3D-printed bionic arm. As a baby, doctors removed part of his right arm because of a blood problem. For decades, he wore simple hooks or basic artificial arms. Within one hour of putting on the new arm, he held tools, his dog's leash, and opened a soft drink can by himself.
The arm is called Hero FLEX. It was made by Open Bionics, a company from the UK (the United Kingdom) . Their team uses a 3D scanner to design a socket that fits the body. Small wireless sensors, called MyoPods, read his muscle signals and tell the fingers to move. The user can also change the hand for special tools for gardening or other hobbies.
The new arm weighs about four pounds. That is less than half the weight of his old arm. Now Gowtham can wear it almost all day, not just for 30 minutes. He uses it to lift boxes, open doors, and solder circuit boards in his physics lab. He waited about a year for Open Bionics to make this above-elbow version. He says people's view of artificial arms is changing.
