20 time reflection

I chose to do my project on something related to what I want to study more of when I go to college. I chose to do my project related to prosthetic devices because it is such a useful technology with many new advances appearing. New methods of creating prosthetic devices have arose making them so much more accessible and cheaper to produce. One new method is to use 3d printing. I chose to 3d print my own prosthetic hand to see just how pervasive this new technology makes prosthetics. Currently prosthetics can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and not many people can afford them. 3d printing allows the possibility to build durable devices with the same function at around a couple hundred  dollars. During this project I challenged myself to first design and build my own prosthetic hand. I used 3d modelling to create the parts and connected motors to a remote control to control the hand. During this I was focused on honing the skills I know I will need more of in college. After I finished this I then 3d printed a design from enable who uploads dozens of 3d printed prosthetic hands design for people to be able to print for free to see just how widespread this technology has become. During my printing of the hand I had at least 10 unsuccessful prints. I am a little bit new at using this technology so it took me around 2 weeks to finally get the hang of it. I learned a lot through this project about the different types of proshetics such as myolelectric prosthetics and mechanical prosthetics. I also learned all about the different projects already going on revolving around this similar field, and how an element of uniqueness and style becomes added in the prosthetic as a result of the 3d printing. If i had a chance to do it again I would probably have spent a little bit more time outside of class researching and developing my models. Some parts are still a little disfunctional and coming this close to the presentation date makes it more stressful to fix the problems I have. Next I will begin to pursue this path in college, hopefully developing more advanced 3d printed prosthetics that will.


Outline

First I will talk about why I am interested in this topic, and what problems currently affect society revolving around prosthetics. Then I will talk about the current prosthetics available. I then will talk about the process of 3d printing and how it can revolutionize the current thinking of prosthetics. Finally I will end by saying how 3d printing and this new technology can incorporate the ideas of many in prosthetics and ultimately many other aspects of medicine like never before.