Brian Mere
BMED 213-70
HW # 5

An interesting design I found was the Trésdesis, a mechanical prothetic arm with finger support that's 3D printed [1]. It's intended to be printed from any of Ayudame3D's partner's printers. As a result, the design is not freely available to the public; however, this is done so that partners can collaborate with Ayudame3D directly, and thus partners can be up-to-date on printing the newest prothetics that they design (in case of any updates). This is needed because they primarily recreate the design based on the scans of individuals that make a request for a prosthetic [2].

2. What qualities or dimensions of the device are customizable?  How is the customization process conducted?

Namely, the basic design and functionality of each device like the Trésdesis is set in stone, but there are other subtypes of these designs. For instance, there's the Nelly design that is a fingerless arm, as contrasted with the Mery that uses the elbow joint to contract the fingers [1].

The joint at which the arm can connect to is custom-designed for each person, hence why the request process is needed for this socially-motivated organization. The process starts by one completing a google form [3] that then lets Ayudame3D about your request. They let you know if they can do it and then ask you to scan the joint in question so they can design a custom prosthetic around the Trésdesis design. They then fabricate and ship the prosthetic, free of charge.

3. Describe the typical client reaction or feedback regarding this device?  Does it fit their needs?  Has the design undergone multiple revisions to satisfy client demands?

Ayudame3D seems to just stick with the same design concept without much larger revisions. They seem to allow recipients to stay in contact in case a replacement is needed, but other than joint connection revisions no other design changes are made. This is coming from the fact that I, after looking at various sources, can only find information coming from Ayudame3D and not another outside source.

With this, it's interesting to see that the testimony from clients is very positive! Just check out the reddit post that inspired me to talk about this group [4]. It's clear from the mountains of testimony they get that, even if the prothetics aren't perfect, the cheapness helps give a huge about of ability to many people in dire need.

4. How much does this device cost to fabricate and assemble?  Does the client build their own device or can they order it from another party?  Estimate how many of these devices are in use today

The client must order it through Ayudame3D (no outside parties allowed); however, often people within the region of the person that needs the prosthetic can request to be a partner to help out with printing [2]. The design, assembly process, and cost is all handled by Ayudame3D.

Costs and the number of devices are hard to gauge as Ayudame3D doesn't have any public numbers. As a result, we can really only lowball some approximations. It seems that there's at least 10 or so unique people that have been helped by this device, and the costs are likely under 200 dollars. The cost estimate is because the amount of PLA used in the prosthetic is enough to bring it over 100 dollars in terms of amount of printer filament used. The extra mechanisms for the fingers are also inexpensive as they are simple strings and wires and thus those costs can be ignored.

References

[1] “Trésdesis - Ayúdame3D,” Ayudame3D, https://ayudame3d.org/en/tresdesis-2/ (accessed May 13, 2024).

[2] “Make Yourself A Partner,” Ayudame3D, https://ayudame3d.org/hazte-socio/ (accessed May 13, 2024).

[3] "Solicitud de Trésdesis", Ayudame3D, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScbM2S9QU06HNX6O-ZhrQCpUSoETa36PvsxdDvkTOuxzNLBWA/viewform (accessed May 13, 2024)

[4] “A very cool story on 3D printed prosthetics!,” Reddit, https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/gs1123/a_very_cool_story_on_3d_printed_prosthetics/ (accessed 2020).