UN-LIMB-ITED POTENTIAL
Louisdale native creates hope for amputees in less fortunate countries.
When most people have some spare time, they work around the house, meet with friends or engage in a hobby.
When Jake Boudreau has time to spare, he makes a prosthetic limb for an athlete in Brazil.
After working out west in the oil patch, the 25-year-old Louisdale, Richmond County native moved to Halifax last fall where he now works for a logistics company.
In his work, which involves moving items from one place to another, he has imported a lot of 3D printers and became fascinated by their potential for good.
“I followed the 3D printing industry quite closely over the years and noticed manufacturers starting to make printers that were much more compact and affordable for in-home use,” Boudreau explained in an email interview last week. “Upon watching a TED talk video in November that outlined the organization E-Nable (an international network that uses the printers to create prosthetics for children and others who have lost limbs), I decided it was time to fund a project of my own and take action.”
In November, Boudreau set up his own E-Nable chapter and launched a GoFundMe page asking for $1,200 to raise the money to get a printer, a Creality CR10 that came as a kit from China, and related materials. The project raised $1,400 after three months.
He created a prototype of a hand which allowed him to be validated as a member of ENable.
Boudreau says it’s important that those who create the prosthetics show that they can create the items properly and that they can size it appropriately to each person.
“Sites like www.enablingthefuture.org have downloadable blueprints for people that have these printers at their home or place of business. You simply download a template and feed it to your printer which will then print a prosthetic hand piece by piece. Their blueprints are open source, meaning people all over the world will have the capability to not only download but edit existing blueprints and make them even more functional. This group is connected to a community of patients that are in need of an upper limb assisted device.”
Kelly M, a Brazilian Paralympic athlete who lost part of her forearm in a workplace accident, is one of those people requiring a prosthetic. With the printer humming 24 hours a day next to his bed, Boudreau plans to have it ready for her by April 1.
“Through the E-Nable web central, Kelly used the intake form which tells us the style of device she would like, as well as colour scheme and measurements,” Boudreau said. “I offered to fabricate, assemble and ship the piece, and another volunteer name John L. volunteered to take her measurements and scale the device so it will fit her perfectly. John sizes each part to Kelly’s measurements then sends the files to me which will be printed and assembled. Distance is very arbitrary in this process. Using this method, we don’t necessarily need Kelly here with us.”
It’s not an instant process — depending on what part he is printing, it can take anywhere from two hours to 27 hours to print. He uses polylactic acid (PLA plastic) which is derived from cornstarch. It’s fed into the machine, melted and then follows the 3D object design that Boudreau sends to the printer via a SD card.
It will cost Boudreau between $100 and $150 to make the prosthetic, a considerable saving when you consider some prosthetics on the market can cost between $30,000 and $40,000.
While there are definite advantages to the more expensive models, Boudreau’s work is far more affordable for someone living in a less affluent country who may not be able to afford more technologically advanced limbs.
“For Kelly, I believe she has never had anything to date, so this will be a new start for her,” said Boudreau who, through his non-profit Kindness 3D, plans to keep applying for more cases through E-Nable Web central and eventually get more people involved in the project.
“I am hoping to acquire funding from the province towards this research as well as potential corporate sponsorship. My plan from here is to put on workshops showing people the impact of 3D printing and visit schools around the province to get them involved.”
More on his project can be found at facebook.com/kindness3d and www.gofundme. com/3dprinthalifax .