ALUMNI PROFILE JOSHUA PELZ , MS ' 19 , PHD . ' 22 | LUCA DE VIVO ’ 16 , MS ’ 20 , PHD ’ 21
A SECOND CHANCE
Alumni startup aims to make 3D-printed prostheses accessible and affordable .
BY IOANA PATRINGENARU
E very quarter , you ’ ll find UC San Diego engineers Joshua Pelz , MS ’ 19 , PhD ’ 22 and Luca De Vivo ’ 16 , MS ’ 20 , PhD ’ 21 , as well as prosthetics specialist Herb Barrack , in Ensenada , Mexico . They have traveled to give amputees a second chance at mobility with free , 3D-printed , custom-made prostheses from their startup , LIMBER Prosthetics & Orthotics Inc .
“ I found my passion for this project when we visited a clinic in Mexico and saw the huge impact our technology can have ,” says Pelz , LIMBER co-founder .
The team takes scans of the amputees ’ residual limbs with smartphones , then they bring the scans back to UC San Diego . They use them to build a digital model of the amputated limb and a compatible prosthesis . Then , using a 3D printer the team developed , the prosthesis is printed in just 12 hours . The team returns to Mexico with the prosthesis , and the fit is perfected and fine-tuned to the recipient .
The World Health Organization estimates that there are 40 million amputees globally and 95 % make do without the use of a prosthetic limb . Amputations are caused by trauma , infections , diabetes or other medical problems . Traditionally , a model of the residual limb is hand-carved by a specialist , a time-consuming process that is expensive and can ’ t be replicated .
“ They are like sculptors ,” says De Vivo . “ And there are not enough of them .”
Patients must undergo repeated visits to see these specialists to ensure the proper shape and fit of the prosthetic .
By using a combination of personalized scans as well as digital designs and 3D printing on a large scale , the LIMBER team believes it could reduce the cost of a prosthesis by anywhere from 50 % to 90 %, delivering prosthetics much faster to those who need them .
Diana Zambrano , a San Diego resident
44 FALL 2022