Program Details
MORE Foundation uses 3-D printer technology to make customized prosthetic hands for children, at no cost to the family. Our volunteers and engineers take measurements of the hand in need, upload those measurements to the computer, and print a prosthetic that is customized to the size, shape, and needs of the recipient. Volunteers assemble and fit the hands, while our network of hand doctors and hand therapists assist with training and rehabilitation plans.
MORE Foundation is grateful to the e-NABLE Community and Team Unlimbited for pioneering the use of 3-D printed prosthetics and their knowledge sharing communities to exchange designs. Many of the designs used by MORE Foundation are based on designs from these communities. We will be making our designs and add-ons available for free download in the near future, so stay tuned if you like a MORE Foundation design you have seen. To get more information on any of our designs, please complete our contact us form.
Why it’s important to support Helping Hands
Since children grow and develop rapidly, and prosthetic hands can be very expensive, the cost of providing traditional prosthetics to a growing child can easily exceed $100,000. For this reason, insurance companies frequently deny coverage for children’s prostheses, leaving families to pay out or pocket or, more commonly, children to go without prosthetics for years. Coupled with the number of uninsured children that cannot afford prostheses, there is a great need for assistance in this area.
Since motor coordination and dexterity develop more rapidly during youth, this represents a critical time to develop the coordination and skills required to successfully control a prosthetic limb. Denying a child a needed prosthesis creates a lasting deficit in their function and ability to complete activities of daily living. No child should be denied a prosthesis and fall behind their peers in the development of dexterity, social interaction, and self-confidence. Supporting this program ensures we can lend a Helping Hand to every child in need.
Achievements
- Achieved our funding goal of $10,000 with help of AZ Gives Day and the generous staff of The CORE Institute
- Purchased our 3D printer
- Identified clinical and technical collaborators in the community
- Printed several test hands
- Produced and gifted our first hand to a child!
Who does this program benefit?
- Children and youth who have upper extremity differences, including birth deformities and traumatic injuries that cause loss of function of the hand and/or wrist.
- Families that cannot afford prosthetics for their children who exhibit upper extremity functional challenges.
- Children whose insurance company denies coverage for a hand prosthetic