The University of Louisville Alumni Magazine: for alumni, faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a UofL Cardinal fan.
Issue link: https://louisville.epubxp.com/i/705015
3 4 | L O U I S V I L L E . E D U "The students did most of their preliminary work on the computer," said Bertocci. "By working in a virtual environment, they were able to create designs that were guaranteed to f t and interface with Lucas' hand, wrist and forearm." Once the designs were f nished and properly tested in a virtual environment, it was time to make them a reality. The most eff cient way to do this was by printing the designs on a 3-D printer, a process that took between 20 and 30 hours per hand. Another 12 hours were spent assembling each of the three hands. This process wasn't as simple as just snapping pegs into holes, though. "The components of each hand were joined together by cables, wires and other structures that would replicate the function of the tendons in a human hand," said Bertocci. "The students were also very careful in creating the interface between Lucas and his hand. We didn't want it to ever cause him any discomfort or abrasion, even with prolonged use. Yet it had to be durable enough to withstand all the things that kids like to do." "On the day of the presentations, Lucas was accompanied by his parents and his grandmother," said Bertocci. "It was amazing. He tried on the hands, the students made minor adjustments, and within 10 minutes he was picking up a ball." Each of the three hands operates in basically the same fashion. When Lucas bends his wrist up and down, cables on his new hands cause the f ngers to grasp and release. Lucas had the f nal say in which hand would be his. While Lucas liked all three hands, one had to be retained by the school for accreditation documentation. Of the two that Lucas took home with him, one is reminiscent of Spider-Man, while the other hand is green, glows in the dark and has a light built into it. The new hand was an immediate hit with Lucas' classmates as well. Rather than becoming an object of curiosity, Lucas was embraced as a celebrity by his peers. "His classmates swarmed him," said Bertocci. "They all wanted to be like Lucas. Whenever you are able to help someone with a disability integrate seamlessly into society, that's a success. That's what we strive for." THE OFFICE OF TECH TRANSFER HELPS NEW IDEAS BECOME SUCCESSFUL While Lucas' hand was developed using open-source resources, many accomplishments and discoveries at UofL present the opportunity for prof t. To help the university, its faculty and its students turn their discoveries into marketable products, the Off ce of Tech Transfer helps coordinate the patenting and licensing of promising technology. Two discoveries that are currently enjoying assistance from the Off ce of Tech Transfer have the potential to change health in two different ways. And both show enormous possibility. DISCOVERING A METHOD FOR FASTER BONE REPLACEMENT AND SHORTER RECOVERY TIMES Bone voids are areas in the body where bone has been removed, lost or destroyed either by surgery, disease or trauma. The current procedure for replacing lost bone is to f ll in the void with a calcium-based synthetic material. Over time, this ▲ Stephen Carnahan, Master's student in Bioengineering, helps fi t Lucas Abraham with one of his new "bionic" hands created with the use of 3-D printing technology. TOP: Vial containing bone Trabs. BOTTOM LEFT: Dr. Michael Voor. RIGHT: Trabexus EB used in a calcaneus (heel bone) fracture with a plate and screws. BOTTOM: The putty/paste can be loaded into the barrel of a large gauge syringe or manipulated by hand.