14 DAY TRIAL // Nicolas Huchet, a man living in Rennes, France, had an accident with a hydraulic press twelve years ago and was left without his right hand. Since then, he has had more than his fair share of trouble finding a good prosthesis, since most of the ones that had the functionality he needed weren't covered by his insurance.
Being an audio specialist, up to the point of having mastered and become a teacher of Pro Tools, this is understandably upsetting.
Ironically, he admitted that even the prostheses that cost fifty thousand dollars were lacking. He needed a hand that was reasonably light but still durable, as well as having a functional opposable thumb.
It would also need to reach a maximum opening size and be precise enough to hold a pen, coin or the headphone cable. All in a neutral position, not pinching in a palm-down position.
The light at the end of the tunnel
Eventually, he found out about 3D printed prosthetics, but did not know where to begin to look for one, or make one himself.
Then came the 3D printing exhibition in Rennes in October 2012, where he finally got some experts to personally consult with.
He was advised to download a robotic hand from Thingiverse, and he understood that he could make his own hand at home with enough planning and patience.
One thing led to another and he spent the next few months making his own 3D printed hand, with help from LabFab in Rennes. The hand was an international effort (those were his own words).
The Oddyssey
He used 3D printing to make the digits, but the muscle sensors were bought from the US, input for the overall design came from Brazil, he even traveled to the Maker Faire in Rome, Italy later, then he attended the Geek Picnic in St. Petersburg, Russia, and then went to New York for the World Maker Faire.
Might sound a bit overkill, but the man was designing a replacement hand. I can totally appreciate the zeal, especially now that it has paid off.
Hutchet calls his myoprosthesis “Bionico” and is still working on it, but with only $250 (222 euro) in expenses, it's awesome. He may start a crowdfunding campaign in the future, to finalize it and distribute it to other people in need.
