Helping Hands
BY MATTHEW HYATT
Using myoelectric signals, a circuit board and a smartphone, USC student Matthew Hyatt along with mentors Adam Riddle and Dan Arnett have engineered an affordable 3D printed prosthetic hand.
Dan Arnett tests out the bebionic at Hanger Clinic.
The cost for the newest generation lightweight prosthetic hand, such as a bebionic, is $ 90,000. Adam Riddle, a 25-year-old computer programmer born without his right hand due to a congenital deformity, says,“ The cheaper options are often heavier and not as easy to maneuver.” And, since the cost of a bebionic isn’ t covered for Riddle, he had chosen not to wear a prosthetic device— until now. Today, Riddle has a working hand. The total cost: $ 728.84. Fifteen-year-old Matthew Hyatt, who is interested in a career as a robotics engineer, met Riddle through Dan Arnett, a programming mentor for Matthew’ s robotics team and research assistant in the Carnegie Mellon University robotics program. Since Matthew was looking to work on an outside project to enhance his programming, building and computer-aided design( CAD) skills, Arnett suggested they build a hand for Riddle.
To start their research, they attended a Hanger Clinic physicians’ workshop about upper limb prosthetics taught by Branden Petersen, an upper limb specialist from New York.
Dan Arnett Adam Riddle and Matt Hyatt at Hanger Clinic.
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