How Project Daniel Is Crafting Prosthetic Limbs With 3D Printers

Danielle Restuccia | VOXXI | April 7, 2014

Project Daniel is a rare beacon of light in the otherwise war-torn area of South Sudan: researchers recently pioneered 3D printing as a means of building prosthetic arms for child amputees.

According to the official press release, Project Daniel—which is funded by Not Impossible, LLC—opened the “world’s first 3D-printing prosthetic lab and training facility” in the Nuba Mountain region of Sudan. In November of 2013, Not Impossible CEO Mick Ebeling fitted double arm amputee Daniel Omar with a prosthetic arm, allowing the 14-year-old to grip objects, shake hands, and feed himself for the first time in two years.

With 3D printing on the rise in the medical world, both to create prosthetics and real human tissue, Project Daniel hopes to expand its provision of prosthetic printers to other regions of South Sudan, Africa, and beyond.