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WREX, 3D Printed "Magic Arms" and the Future of Pediatric Prosthetics

By LinYee Yuan - August 3, 2012

in Digital Fabrication

Two-year-old Emma was born with anthrogryposis (AMC), a rare congenital disease that affects muscle strength. At a family conference, Emma's mother learned about the Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX), an assistive device made of hinged metal bars and resistance bands that enables people with underdeveloped arms to play and feed themselves.

Tariq Rahman and Whitney Sample of the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children had created an early prototype of the WREX, that worked for children as young as six. But the device was attached to a wheelchair and some children with AMC, including Emma, had use of their legs. The early version of the WREX was just too large and heavy for a child of Emma's size.

Rahman and Sample found that, with the use of 3D printers, they were able to create a lightweight and flexible working prosthetic for Emma, that is customizable with easily replicated broken parts. The custom exoskeletons are printed in ABS plastic and attached to a plastic vest. Because of the ease of manufacturing, the exoskeleton can grow with the child which makes 3D printing especially exciting for those working in pediatric care.

Currently, fifteen children now use a custom 3D printed WREX device. Watch the full video of Emma's story after the jump.

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phillip kerr

10 years ago

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Is there any possibility this will be available in the UK? If anyone knows anything about how to get this amazing invention send me an email. My daughter is 1 and has arthrogryposis which baldly effects her arms please get back to me if you have any info.

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- Rance Tino
  
  7 years ago
  
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  It really depends on the Hospitals there in UK if they're willing to pay the MagicArms company for them to build their development centres. At the moment, to get both left and right exoskeleton would cost you approx. 5000+ USD. If you want to have the whole exoskeleton 3D-printed, you can download the files here then get someone to print it for you which would save you thousands of dollars: Requested : Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX) - STEP / IGES,Alibre Design - 3D CAD model - GrabCAD
  
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Nadine Patrick

11 years ago

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How does this work when there is very low muscle tone?

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- Rance Tino
  
  7 years ago
  
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  I am afraid it won't work very well on people who has very low muscle tone although you can still try it by increasing the number of elastics. But in my opinion, an active exoskeleton is much preferred in this case.
  
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Judy

12 years ago

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can this be used for adult quadriplegics
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- Rance Tino
  
  7 years ago
  
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  Maybe. Check JAECO WREX :)
  
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