Thursday, February 3, 2011

Blog Assignment # 9

3D printers are being used to make prosthetics inexpensively, making them affordable to children worldwide. Read the full article and comment on the question below.

  • What will it take for prosthetics to be made accessible and free of charge to everyone who needs them? Will that day ever come? Why or why not?

19 comments:

  1. Alondra J. Ramirez PiñeroAugust 15, 2016 at 11:19 PM

    • What I think it takes for prosthetics to be made accessible and free of charge to everyone, could be a good charity that can make these types of special projects. Like it said in the video it only cost like one hundred dollars. It is not that expensive but for families that do not have too much resources it is a lot for them. This 3D printing experiment has been a true blessing for kids, adolescent, adults, and old people around the whole world. It is certainly amazing how these 3D printers can make prosthetic arm. Not only just an arm, an arm with pretty colors that the kids will love and can relate to. Like for example the little Brazilian girl from the video, her prosthetic arm had something in the nails of the little fingers that will permit her to paint her nails, this fact brought a smile to the little girls face. The fact that she can paint all her ten nails is just something that every girl loves doing, and now that she can do it too is just too much an excitement for her. There was also this other boy that had for a long time now the prosthetic arm, and he has even playing soccer so that’s more that he could ever ask for. So yes, this prosthetics are in dead very useful for people all over the world. I have no doubt that at some point in the future this day will come were this prosthetics will come free in favor of all those people in need!

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  2. Prosthetics have been a tool and a necessity that I have seen as an underrated fund in a lot of minds. Many people do not understand this need until something happens to them or they are touched very close by it, and experience how difficult it is, to not only live without a member of your body, but to live with the way people see you and how a life changes so much when working without all of your original parts. I do not know or have no information about how prosthetics work and their prices. I do know technology is breaking everything thing down to their simplest form. I believe that technology has advanced and has made it as easy as using a 3D Printer to creat limbs for children. We may not suffer this, but prosthetics are something very necessary to make lives much, much easier. For this reason, as technology keeps advancing and bringing new ways of creating and making things simpler, I conclude with the theorical fact of prosthetics becoming less expensive in a future. I don't think a monopoly can run this market, which could make it much expensive, but I do know that it'll be easier and a great blessing for many families in a future.

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  3. Kristell Calderón PeláezSeptember 13, 2016 at 11:20 PM

    I think that it will take a lot of volunteers and people with huge hearts that are able to donate for those less fortunate. That solution does not sound that hard to do, but in reality it is not that easy for there are not many people willing to help. However, I think that accessibility of prosthetics is attainable. I have seen news of people and companies that are working with 3D printers to make prosthetics inexpensive, for instance, a prosthetic that costed $7,000.00 is now made of recycling materials for $5.00. This is a huge difference of cost which makes them more accessible. Technology has being really helpful to those interested on helping others; so at the end, If is there is no many people willing to help then technology will be the one to make it for those less fortunate.

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  4. It will take many things to happen for prosthetics to be made accessible and free of charge for everyone who needs them. First of all, as I was reading the article, the organization e-NABLE gets volunteers across the world to create prosthetics for all children who need them. If the organization could get a lot of educated engineers and donations it could go a long way. There are many families in the world who are not able to afford prosthetics for their child, opening an opportunity like this one to them would be life changing to them. If there is a lot of encouragement and support for this organization, it will have success. If this amazing opportunity was put out in social media many more people will come to know more about it and spark something positive to come out of it. I also think more 3D printers will have to be designed and each time be improved to last longer. Most importantly people will have to be open minded, loving, and willing to give their time for this cause. I think that this organization is an amazing opportunity for all children who need prosthetics. In the video, you can see the happiness that surrounded them of Ana-Luisa and Rafael as they were given their prosthetic arm. If we all think about this, we could change so many families lives, and give hope!!!!

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  5. Kristell Calderón PeláezSeptember 25, 2016 at 1:11 PM

    It will take a lot of volunteers and people with huge hearts that are able to donate for those less fortunate. That solution does not sound that hard to do, but in reality it is not that easy for there are not many people willing to help. However, I think that accessibility of prosthetics is attainable. I have seen news of people and companies that are working with 3D printers to make prosthetics inexpensive, for instance, a prosthetic that costed $7,000.00 is now made of recycling materials for $5.00. This is a huge difference of cost which makes them more accessible. Technology has being really helpful to those interested on helping others; so at the end, If is there is no many people willing to help then technology will be the one to make it for those less fortunate.

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  6. Lissette Fred Flores

    While it’s a great thing that there’s a way for prosthetics to be made inexpensively I don’t think that they will ever be made free of charge unless there is a patent on it not allowing other people other than those who created it to use or distribute it. Maybe someone willing to participate in a good cause could make them available to the foundations that use prosthetics for their clients/patients. On the other hand, someone at some point will see the opportunity and try to take advantage of the possible revenue they could make from them and may attempt to copy the design with minor alterations and sell them. I think this is sad because they were made with good causes in mind. I think that if they where to be sold they should be at an affordable price considering that the people that have to buy them may have other needs and expenses for their condition.

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  7. The World keeps on developing more and more, things change on an everyday basis. There are different ways this can be made accessible and affordable for children to use. There are always many great people throughout the World who donate to charity, this can be used to buy prosthetics for children. There are different organizations that provide this kind of help worldwide. The more this becomes available and cheaper to build, the least expensive it’ll be. Sure it’s a bit hard to visualize this right now but in 10 or 15 years from now this will be so normal that this conversation will be lost in the past. 3D printers have been a blessing, I remember a few years ago how expensive prosthetics were and what we have achieved now thanks to this technology which I never thought would be possible.

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  8. Camille Elise Colon RipollDecember 4, 2016 at 6:41 PM

    What will it take for the prosthetics to be made accessible and free of charge to everyone who needs them? Will that day ever come? Why or why not?

    It depends, if insurance covers it and the president passes a law talking of such subject, then there is a possibility to them for free. Other option is that they find an ingredient that is way cheaper than plastic, then you have another possibility. We could all be rich and own the company. I think that free is a bad word, not for me, but for the investors and company owners. Free is not an option, it’s either you pay or leave with nothing.

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  9. I mean, unless plastic, silicon, and manufacturing become free, I don’t think we’ll ever fully make them free. Granted they can become incredibly cheap, but it will still cost something to make them, just because you can print a book’s page for like ten cents, doesn’t mean it’s free. My explanation for this is actually something I learned reading a fictional history book. Take a simple bottle of root beer. Molasses from the United States, anise from Spain, liquorice from France, Vanilla and Bourbon from Madagascar, cinnamon from Sri Lanka, cloves from Indonesia, wintergreen from china, pimento berry oil from Jamaica and balsam oil from Peru. These ingredients are imported from all these countries into the mainland, just to be served as a simple drink. Can you imagine how many pieces and ingredients may have to be brought to the States just to make a 3d printer that can make human limbs, cheap or not? Even if the machines are built here in the U.S, they still have to travel across state lines to their destination. When you put things in perspective, you realize just how complicated the modern world is and why even the cheapest things cost some money. That is why it’s impossible for things to become free, maybe they can become practically free if they’re covered by a government plan that spreads to all of the nation’s citizen’s, but it will always cost something to make and maintain such machinery. At least with our present technologies.

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  10. As long as money is involved there will never something as generous as free prosthetics for anyone who needs them. In a utopia where human nature doesn't rule king then this would be a possibility but since we aren't living in a dreamworld but in the reality of the day to day world we reside in then this simply won't happen. Too much money goes into making sure that it is costly to find cures to whatever you have medically. Hospitals have made dealing with your sickness a business more then generous act and Medical firms have made the cost of drugs for day to day problems costly and the process to get them time consuming. All this to ensure that money is flowing and this cycle will continue for the rest of our natural lives and while it sounds pessimistic and negative it is the reality of the world we are living in.

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  11. What would it take for prosthetics to be made accessible and free of charge to everyone who needs them? Well in order for them to be free I think there could be a fundraiser by churches, school or donations from charity. I don’t think its that difficult to get them for free there just has to be a group of huge people willing to help out. Also if the material was cheap then probably that would help give them away for free. The fundraisers can also come in handy because people would notice the cause and think theyre working hard for something and they would probably help donate for a good cause. Especially if its for kids, they could make separate charities for adults and kids or even combine they whatever is more convenient.

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  12. Joseadan Collado ConsuegraDecember 5, 2016 at 2:01 PM

    I believe that it might not be 100% free of charge, but I believe that one day we will see something like the article was talking about. A place where people can chime in and give ideas to always keep improving prosthetics. With the advances in technology, 3-D printing has opened up tremendous possibilities. As the article mentioned, prosthetics are a huge expense for any family, especially when children are the ones that need it. Think about it as clothes, a kid will need to replace its clothing every six months to a year, simply because of the growth. Prosthetics work in the same way, every six months according to the article the prosthetics have to be replaced, which adds on more cost; with a 3-D printing method the cost is significantly cut down and it becomes more affordable for the family. The reason I don't believe it will ever be free of charge, is that 3-D printing although more affordable, still uses equipment, and requires workers. Which are costs that someone has to be responsible for. With that said, the cost will be significantly less, and therefore more accessible to consumers.

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  13. Jasmine Campos LongoriaDecember 5, 2016 at 3:36 PM

    What will it take for prosthetics to be made accessible and free of charge to everyone who needs them? Will that day ever come? Why or why not?
    It would take a lot of people willing to help in any way that they can. From volunteering, to making fundraisers, to maybe even donating for this cause. I know there are a lot of good people out there that care for the community and the people in it, and want to make this world a better place. Kindness makes a big difference. I know people willing to help will always be around. It's great how much technology has improved, it's a great way to start projects like making prosthetics with 3D printers. It really is great how much we can do with fewer resources, and recycled products to make things less expensive and achievable for the less fortunate. I don't know if it will get to the point where it will be accessible for free… But I know the day will certainly come when it will be easily accessed at a low cost.

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  14. This would be a real nice project to imply for all those that really does not have mney for prosthetics. but the question ask that is it going to work some day? then I think it wont. This world is made of talking and no action, or of starting things and never finish them. This thing that we call world is never going to that kind of thing its is really too expensive. they say those things just to make us believe everything they say and conform with what we hear from them.

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  15. Jeriel Estevez GarciaDecember 5, 2016 at 5:44 PM

    Anything involving the medical field will always cost you an arm and a leg. With prosthetics this is a very hard task to do. To make something that has cost science and medicine so much research and money seems like a bad investment. What will make everything come to life would be if insurance companies and medic-aid take the boatload of orders . or even a massive discount. but again in a perfect world everything would be free but this world is a pot full of greedy people. helping people comes with a cost to them.

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  16. David A. Corrales BerumenDecember 5, 2016 at 6:36 PM

    According to the video, this accessible and free of charge prosthetics were made by volunteers that are recruited at e-NABLE, and in the video one of the volunteers said he spends about 100 dollars on one prosthetic piece, which includes the material and the energy. So what would probably be needed for this organization to grow is more people who are willing to spend this kind of money and time on producing prosthetic limbs. Something that I see as a challenge for this to continue growing would be the 3-D printer, it is never mentioned on how a volunteer would acquire one, my guess is that you are supposed to have one previous to volunteering and they are not exactly cheap. Don’t want to be pessimist but I honestly think a day where everyone with the need of prosthetic limbs obtains them for free is far from close.

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  17. Cristian Carrero MedinaDecember 5, 2016 at 7:07 PM

    What will it take for prosthetics to be made accessible and free of charge to everyone who needs them? Will that day ever come? Why or why not?

    The 3D printing refers to processes used to synthesize a three-dimensional object in which successive layers of material are formed under computer control to create an object. Objects can be of almost any shape or geometry and are produced using digital model data from a 3D model or another electronic data source. Combining the medicine or prosthetics with that kind of printing, can make incredible results. They can make beautiful parts to improve the person’s life. I don’t think that they would be accessible and free of charge. We can say that it’s a simple process but you need a very sophisticated equipment, software and materials. They are not going to make it free if they can create a business from it. There are a lot of persons that needs prosthesis and the can have a big input of money from that. That day went it gets free, in my opinion would never come. Because of the input of money that can be reached. Everything nowadays is for making people richer and they’re not going to miss that kind of business. It’s innovative, revolutionary and the results are awesome, so many people would love to have them accessible.

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  18. Daniel Robles BarriosDecember 5, 2016 at 10:07 PM

    Every day technology advance more and more. This is the case of the 3D printers. This type of printer is a new technology that allows a person scan something and then printed out. In medicine this printer is also used. They use it to print human tissue and in a lot of more techniques like in prosthetics. In the medicine world the new cures and new methods for curing diseases are most of the time used to gain the most money possible. This is not only in the medical ambit in other ambits to. Reason for this is because humans have an ambitious and corrupt nature. In the development of new prosthetics is the same thing with money. Another thing is that the technology require for this is very expensive as well. That’s why the prosthetics are so expensive and a lot of people can’t afford it. In this article it talks about the possibility of printing prosthesis for children, so that they don’t have to pay for them. This is a very good idea for children that don’t have sufficient money to buy them. Maybe in the future there will be better ways and even free prosthetics for children, but the truth is that prosthetics will never be free because of the resources needed for work that takes to make one and this kind of work is very expensive and difficult. Maybe there will be a way for the patient to have prosthesis free, but there will always be some one that will have to pay for it. Like a company or a rich person.

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  19. I think it would take a long because in these times, it is not easy to find someone that can help without any interest. Maybe they could make some donation programs where people can come and give something for this cause. Despite of these time we are living I think that there are still good people who would like to help these children who have lost their fingers and arm. It is great to know how much is the tecnology improved that with these project, using this 3D printers these children's can have a better life. I am not sure if someday it will be free, but I hope it will be more cheaper that it may be accessible for the family with fewer resources.

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