学生3D打印义肢 残疾男孩重拾笑容

Graduate students have used a 3D printer to make a limb for a six-year-old boy born without a right arm.

一名6岁的男孩天生就没有右臂，一群研究生用3D打印机为他打印了手臂。

Alex Pring, from Groveland, Florida, was given the new prosthetic arm on Friday by a team headed by University of Central Florida student Albert Manero.

男孩名叫Alex Pring，住在佛罗里达州格罗夫兰市。一个由中佛罗里达大学学生Albert Manero领导的小组为他制造了这个义肢。

The limb took seven weeks for the team to build in their free time and cost $350 - compared to the $40,000 that doctors told Alex's family a prosthetic arm would cost. After the little boy put on the arm, which senses muscles in his shoulder and opens and closes, he grinned and gave his mother a hug - the first time he had been able to put two arms around her.

这个小组花了7周的业余时间和350美元就制造了这个义肢，而医生告诉Alex的家庭，一个义肢的价格是4万美元。Alex的义肢可以通过Alex肩部肌肉来控制。当他装上义肢后，他笑着给了妈妈一个拥抱——这可是他平生第一次能够用双臂拥抱妈妈。

'I feel good,' Alex told reporters. 'I feel everything good, even my robot arm. It's not even heavy.'

Alex告诉记者：“我感觉很好。我觉得一切都好，包括我的机器手臂。它一点都不沉。”

Because Alex had been born without an arm, the insurance company wouldn't cover the costs of prosthetic arms.

由于Alex天生没有手臂，保险中不会包括义肢的费用。

The costs are so steep for childhood prosthetics because of their quick rate of growth and the need to always be replacing the limbs.

儿童的义肢费用极高，他们长的很快，因此经常需要更换义肢。

Manero was driving his car when he heard a story on the radio about a man in South Africa who used a 3D printer to make a new hand.

Manero在开车时听到收音机里说一名南非男子用3D打印机制作了一只新手。

'I was really inspired,' he said. 'When I got back, I talked to my colleagues and friends and said, "We can do this".'

他说“这启迪了我，我回去后告诉同事和朋友，‘我们能做到’。”

The team - including friends who study electrical, mechanical and civil engineering - got to work on the arm, which is activated by the electromyography muscle energy on Alex's bicep, UCFToday reported.

义肢制作小组成员中包括他学习电子、机械和土木工程的朋友。中佛罗里达大学校刊UCFToday报道，这个假肢由Alex二头肌的肌肉电能触发。

Manero, a Fulbright Scholar, heads to Germany in August to work for the German Aerospace Center, but he has already promised to help another family with an arm, so he'll remain committed to the project even when he's abroad.

福布莱特学者Manero在8月去德国宇航中心工作，但他已经答应了另一个家庭制作义肢，因此虽然身在国外他仍会为这个项目工作。

'I think 3D printing is revolutionizing our world in many ways,' he said. 'I believe changing the world of prosthetics is very real. There's no reason why this approach shouldn’t work on adults too.'

他说：“我认为3D打印技术在许多方面改变着我们的世界。我相信改变义肢的现状是非常可行的。没理由这种方式不能应用于成人。”