Project Daniel: 3D Printing Prosthetic Arms for Children in Sudan

While 3D printing technology has emerged to serve a wide variety of purposes, few appear more worthwhile than that of US-based company Not Impossible Labs. Through its Daniel Project, the company has not only provided 3D-printed prosthetic arms for amputees in war-torn Sudan, but empowered the local community to continue the initiative in its absence.
At age 14, Daniel Omar had both his arms blown off by a bomb dropped on his village, and considered his life not worth living. His story is not untypical. In this installment of Digital Diversity, we look at how the Not Impossible Team – after a trip to Sudan Nuba’s Mountains – set up the what is probably the world’s first 3D-printing prosthetic lab and training facility to build him a new arm. In keeping with Not Impossible's slogan, "Help One. Help Many," Not Impossible co-founder CEO Mick Ebeling and his team set up a workshop in a local hospital and trained local clinicians to print and build the prosthetic arms themselves. "Teaching a man to fish" appears to have been an effective approach, as the company says that within one and a half weeks of departing Sudan, the local workshop had already created four prosthetic arms."We're hopeful that other children and adults in other regions of Africa, as well as other continents around the globe, will utilize the power of this new technology for similar beginnings," said Ebeling. "We believe Daniel's story will ignite a global campaign. The sharing of the prostheses' specifications, which Not Impossible will provide free and open-source, will enable any person in need, anywhere on the planet, to use technology for its best purpose: restoring humanity."
via NewsAtlas and National Geographic