MakerBot Industries

We live in the future. The super customization side of 3D printing can change people’s lives.

For Summit, the peak of what’s possible with 3D printing may be found in the medical and prosthetic fields. Because of 3D scanners, he said, it’s possible to craft prosthetics that almost perfectly mold to a wearer’s body, unlike more standard models from the past.

Personally, he works on making 3D printouts of legs for those who have lost their own, both in plastic and metal. Summit’s 3D-printed legs are even dishwasher-safe, he said, and curbside-recyclable artifacts of the materials that can be used in the production of such items.

Because the models can be shaped based on patients’ remaining legs, Summit suggested that they are more attractive than what has been possible in the past. Indeed, he said those who have sported early models have reported regular admiring comments from kids and even girlfriends.

“For the first time in his life [as an amputee], kids on the street are jealous of him,” Summit said of one customer. “No one’s ever been jealous of him.”

And to Summit, hearing that those who have used his prosthetics find them to be a pleasant part of their lives–insofar as such an item can be pleasant–is a big part of why he’s set out to transform an industry that has been helping people for years, but with little regard to their specific individual needs.

“If the first thing you see in the morning is this by your bed,” Summit said of one of his more attractive prosthetic models, “you’re pretty psyched. That’s my goal.”

Hat tip to Greg Marra who pointed this article out to us!

via 3D printing changing prosthetics forever | Geek Gestalt – CNET News.

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