Indiana Middle School Students Use 3-D Printer To Make Prosthetic Hand For Classmate
(CBS) -- Some middle school kids in Portage, Indiana are working on a special science project for their classmate: a new hand.
Portage Township Schools has a "Project Lead The Way Program," which is a pre-engineering program.
Along with their teacher, students at Fegely Middle School are building a prosthetic hand with a 3D printer for their 7th grade classmate, a boy whom is missing all of his digits on his left hand.
Michael DePasquale, director of technology integration at Portage Township Schools, says it started with a "high-five" when he noticed the boy was missing the digits on his hand, "So I spoke with his teacher and the principal and I said how would you like to have a project that will design one, build one (a hand) for him and we'll do it with our pre-engineering students."
So, the 11, 12 and 13 year-olds have used a 3-D printer to make a hand.
DePasquale says, "We've actually got all the parts printed now...and we're working with his teacher and his mother and an occupational therapist so that we're going to do this right and give him something that he can make fully usable."
The boy will begin using the hand on a regular basis in about a about a week and-a-half.