Robohand

Doing the Impossible

Robohand — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:45:30 +0000

Written by Beth van As

I know this is really girly and probably super cheesy but I cried when I watched this video put together by Not Impossible Labs dedicated to Rich. As the wife who has been on this journey with Rich since he cut off his fingers, and being personally and emotionally invested in Rich and Robohand, it is quite scary when some one else puts something like this together and shows you how far your journey really has come.

I think people forget that Robohand is a Not For Profit organisation and that we do this in our spare time. We are not a massive organisation with many employees and an endless bank account. We are two individuals with a vision to enable the world. We now have a third member Leonard, who is handling all our communications, media, and the business side of Robohand. Plus he still jumps in and makes hands when he can. He attends all the events when time allows and interacts with people where Rich is bombarded and there is not enough of him to go around.

We do not have a Web design team that handles our Website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. We do not have an admin clerk that handles all 7 email accounts of hundreds of queries we get everyday. This is done by Rich and myself. In our spare time. We have friends like those at Pixel Magic who gave us guidance by redesigning our website and making it easier for me to manage, Schalk Heunis from House4Hack who donates his time to help out at Robohand HQ, my sister who translates for us and sits on our committee to keep us centred.

When I look back over the passed months and I watch a video like this one put together by Not Impossible Labs, I cannot believe how much we have achieved in such a short amount of time – and that in our spare time too!

We rely solely on donations from the public. The kits that we put together and send all over the world, are charged for but cover material costs only. Everything else comes out of our back pocket or from the public’s generous donations. We do not get paid for the time that we spend making hands for people or educating the public on how to make hands.

When we were approached to open a Robohand office in the USA and Australia we realised that there are very passionate people all over the world who want to contribute in some way. Unfortunately everyone needs to earn a salary to be able to live and give back to their communities. It is for that reason that both our International offices charge for their time as well as their material. This is their full time job. It takes approximately 10 hours to fit a Robohand to an individual. This excludes the 5 hour print time for the parts of the Robohand. Each fitting is customised and very personal. It’s almost like going to the doctor’s office. And going forward Rich will be charging for his time too.

I am going to put it out there now. Robohand will charge US$2000.00 for a customized fitted Robohand. Whether it be in person or via a long distance collaboration. This is very cheap considering Robohand is not mass produced.

The design and files are free and available for download from the internet. We are happy for people to make their own Robohands. Collaborate with your school, University, Friends and Colleagues to help someone in your community. Purchase a Robobeast printer which has all the design files already on it and enable people in your community. Upload your pictures and your stories to our Facebook page. Spread the news and engage with people who have upper limb differences. Or contact one of our offices, have an assessment done and Robohand will create your medically safe Robohand for you.

My heart bleeds for the thousands of amputees all over the world and I wish that I could wave my magic wand and they could all have Robohands for free. Unfortunately this is not the reality we live in. Each person that comes through our doors walks a journey with us and us with them. When I see the smiling faces frozen in time on a photograph or video, it makes my heart smile wider than I thought possible. When I think about the dreams of people who have received Robohands being realised, I get a funny feeling in my stomach and it makes me glow with happiness.

From the beginning Robohand has been about enabling. Not Impossible Labs took that to the next level with Project Daniel when they went to the Sudan. I get goose bumps when I think about the amazing things that are happening there and how many people will be enabled due to their generosity.

Take your future into your own hands. Go and ENABLE!

Technology Today

Robohand — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 19:40:57 +0000

A few months ago, CAD House donated a Cubify 3D printer to Robohand to assist with building our print farm.

Today, after Robohand had a meeting with Bernard, the owner of CAD House, he graciously gifted Robohand a scanner and sculpting software. This is a great enhancement tool for Robohand.

The sponsorship of the Cubify 3D printer, the Sense scanner and Sculpting software, now makes a complete Cubify package for Robohand.

Thank you to Bernard and CAD House for your generosity and willingness to help out Robohand.

CAD House has just launched their CAD Lab which encompasses a complete 3D Development solution with membership plans to suite every budget. Not only do they offer great products and software but now you can sign up for a membership to use their awesome products.

Visit them at http://www.cad-house.co.za/ for more information or via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/3DPrinterRSA

3D Printing Enabling War Torn Communities – Robohand and Project Daniel (Not Impossible Labs)

Robohand — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 21:17:00 +0000

Written by Beth van As

7 January 2014

In October of 2013 Rich flew to Los Angeles, USA, to meet up with Mick Ebeling and the group from Not Impossible Labs. His soul purpose was to teach Mick how to put together a Robohand and Roboarm.

The few short days they had in LA together were not enough to transfer the knowledge so Mick flew to Johannesburg, South Africa on his way to the Sudan to spend a few extra days with Rich to complete his training. The best was he had a live subject to practice on!

Mick’s journey began when he heard about Daniel Omar who was only 14 when he had his arms blown off in the Sudanese war. Once Robohand launched their Roboarm, Mick contacted Rich about Project Daniel where Rich designed a new hand for the Roboarm which has been called the “Daniel Hand”. The new signature for Roboarm.

Mick arrived at the Robohand workshop and not much sleep was had over the 3 days he was here. It was a whirlwind of activity and when I arrived home from work on day one, I was enveloped by Mick and put to work setting up all the laptops and equipment to ensure everything would be working correctly when they set up in the Sudan. There is no internet access in the Nuba Mountains so we needed to ensure that all automatic updates and any internet related system tech was turned off. We needed to download the correct software for the Makerbot’s that he was taking with him.

The workshop hummed and sang with all the printers working furiously, mostly 24/7, spewing out meters and meters of PLA, creating the pieces for the Roboarms for Mick to practice with, as well as stock to take to the Sudan. Learning how to ensure the sizing is correct, rendering the files and sending them to print. Unlocking all the SD cards and ensuring that Mick had all the correct files to print the Roboarm. When you don’t know anything about 3D printing these small things can seem a bit daunting.

Then it was ensuring Mick understood all the fundamentals of Roboarm; how the mathematics worked, so once fitted the arm functions; learning all the little things like molding Orthoplastic, stringing fingers, adjusting cables and assembly. A lot of knowledge to cram into a very short space of time. Rich was ever the teacher, instructing but also encouraging “out the box” thinking when Mick hit a stone wall. Rich teaching him to pull from his surroundings and not only rely solely on technology; be creative and use what is around you.

At the same time that Mick arrived, Ty from Altanta, was also at Robohand learning all she could to enable her to set up the Robohand clinic in Atlanta, USA. It was a crazy time in our household; very emotional hearing about Daniel as I know the joy when a person receives a device that can change their life forever. When Mick fitted the Roboarm he had created to his guinea pig the tears were evident in the recapture at the workbench that evening. During our discussions there were some things that did not need to be said as the raw emotion was plain to see.

To be part of a project like this one with Daniel, took Robohand back to our roots. Helping others help others. Spreading the knowledge and enabling communities to help themselves. The hardest part for me is not having enough funding to do this all over the world.

Following are some of the pictures taken during our Not Impossible Visit.

A Response to the “Open Letter”

Robohand — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 14:36:00 +0000

Gauntlet

When I logged in to our web content today, I was surprised to find a very long comment posted under our Open Letter blog post. After reading through the content I got very excited and contacted the writer to enquire if I could re-post his comments as a full blog post. He gives good advice on how to use and mold the Orthoplast that Robohand use for making our mechanical devices and I think this will aid many of you that are trying this for the first time.

Crispin Miller, an independent biomedical design professional has this to say:

“I have some tips to offer about forming Orthoplast, the splint/socket material you shape by softening it in hot water. (This stuff:
http://www.medical-supplies-and-equipment.com/product_more.wcs?pid=00001325
– though I don’t know this particular vendor.)

I worked intensively with this material for several months, making specialized splints and mounts for biomechanics experiments I conducted for my master’s thesis on prosthesis design.

I found it to be an extremely adaptable material, but this same versatility means that it takes practice and attention to control what shape you get. This was underscored to me ten years later when I found myself on the other side of the counter — getting fitted with a splint after I’d hurt my hand — and the young man making it had not been adequately trained for forming the material. I had to go home and re-mold the splint myself, to get rid of just such a pressure point as therapists Esham, Poole, and Scheuber are warning us against.

Here are some things I’ve learned:

1. To form a splint around any part of the body other than perhaps the straight part of the forearm, you have to create some “compound curvatures” — requiring stretched areas in the material. Otherwise when you try to put it around areas which narrow and flare (such as the transition from forearm to wrist to hand), it will form big folds or wrinkles, departing from the natural shape of the body part underneath (think of how some flexible-but-not-stretchy leather would behave) — and these rumples will have an obvious risk of being pressure points. This was the trouble with the splint I had to fix.

To avoid these mis-fitting areas takes attention and practice. Perhaps highly skilled practitioners can do it by themselves (as a single person working), but in my experience a good job on something like a whole-arm splint also required having four hands on the work. One forgiving aspect is that you can reheat the material repeatedly, so as to proceed in multiple steps — on the first heating, softening the material and wrapping it on, you probably just learn what size to trim it to. Maybe also you can see where you’ll need to stretch it, and maybe get it suitably stretched on the next heating. And if you’re lucky, then that time you may still have time also to take the piece, once stretched, and get it suitably wrapped around the limb, before it cools and stiffens up. Or you may run out of time and need to throw it back in the hot water, which means you lose some of your shaping work (but maybe not too much of the stretch) — and then you try again, making sure to position it the same as before so that the trimmed edges and the stretched area(s) are still where you need them to be.

2. We found that the work was easier if you did some extra temperature manipulation of the material –

– the simplest part of this was that once you do have the piece formed the way you like it, and you’d like to go ahead and firm it up, you can sponge it with cold water and then you don’t have to keep sitting there holding it in place for so long. So we prepared both a hot-water dishpan and a cold-water dishpan, with big sponges in both, and if we needed to buy extra time on some part of the piece, we could keep it warm with the warm sponge, and once we wanted to solidify it we could cool it with the cold sponge. Typically we had three hands holding the material and the fourth hand applying the sponge. There’s a significant time lag you need to expect, for either heating or cooling, because the material takes time to change its temperature all the way through.

– for the initial stretching, it helps to have the material soaked in hotter water than you’d use for fitting it onto the wearer — BUT you cannot wrap it onto someone’s arm when it’s that hot! Do the stretching you need, then cool it off and check it against your own (scrubbed) skin, then wrap it on.

– One way we learned to speed this up was to sponge the wearer’s side of the hot material with a quick, uniform wipe of cold water and then wrap it on, while the rest of the material thickness was still nice and flexible — BUT this was with a fully able-bodied volunteer subject with no sensory or circulatory impairment, who could let us know if the splint was feeling too warm and should come off — so do think carefully about this approach, and test it on yourself first, to learn for example whether the interior of the material may be holding more heat than you think. If you’re working with someone who has any damage to skin, or to nerves, or to circulation, I wouldn’t use this trick.

– unless you have a thermostat-controlled water bath, never wrap any piece of heated Orthoplast onto someone without checking the material temperature against the back of your own hand first.

3. A technique I haven’t seen clinicians do, but that I’ve found invaluable, is to do finishing details by local heating afterward, with the splint off of the wearer. This lets you soften and fix small areas without losing the overall shape. Two examples of things this lets you do are:

– flare the edges, at places that would poke or dig when the limb is pressing against them;
– soften the appropriate spot on top of the wrist and poke a good outward bulge into the surface there, about an inch wide, to avoid pressure at the place where the ulna makes a lump there (a lump which varies as you twist the wrist, by the way!)

One way to do this local heating is with a workshop “heat gun” (a hair dryer on steroids), but do be careful and patient, because a heat gun can scorch the material if you try to soften it too quickly.

One extra trick with a heat gun is that you can WELD this material, face to face, if you want to apply a thickening patch or splice a bracket on, or something. One of the two pieces should be softened so it will mate tightly, and then you quickly heat both faces strongly but briefly with the heat gun and press them together.

A kinder-gentler way I found for forming finishing touches, though, was to use a small steam jet. You still have to take care not to scald yourself, but you won’t scorch the material. What I rigged up was a Pyrex flask of water on a lab hotplate, with a one-hole stopper and a bent copper tube (to send the jet sideways so I could see what I was doing). Less elegantly, you could use the spout of a pressure cooker with the pressure weight removed.

If any of this leaves you questions, I’ll try to respond –

best regards and good luck,
Crispin Miller, PhD mech. engr’g Lincoln, Massachusetts”

Open letter to Robohand DIYers

Robohand — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 15:45:00 +0000

Important Safety Information for the Robohand

Greetings,

My name is Tyhanna Esham, OTR. I am an Occupational Therapist with twenty years of experience. For the past ten years I have specialized in hand therapy in Atlanta,Georgia.

Recently, I returned from Johannesburg SouthAfrica where I studied Robohand design with its creator Mr. Richard Van As. Since his accident two years ago resulting in amputation of several digits, Mr. Van As (an amputee himself and having an intimate knowledge of the unique issues facing hand deficit individuals) has devoted much of his personal time, finances and knowledge toward developing cost effective, functional and safe uses for the Robohand design.

Regarding Construction of the Robohand:

Use Robohand design #44150 (thingiverse) for durability. The “Snap Together” Robohand model (thingiverse # 92937) was intended for demonstration use only. It lacks strong, secure hardware and is prone to failure with heavy use.
Use quality hardware as listed in the Assembly Manual. Lesser quality hardware may result in failure, rusting, poor cosmetics and most importantly a dysfunctional Robohand that could cause injury and infection. Stainless steel hardware with dome nuts must cover exposed screws to prevent injury to the wearer or others. Although stainless steel adds to the initial cost of a Robohand, it is stronger, safer and less likely to cause injury/infection making it more medically appropriate. Another benefit of stainless steel hardware is that it can be reused in upgrades as the child grows or as the Robohand is updated or replaced.
Custom moulded Orthoplast is medically appropriate for Robohand use, provides an excellent surface for pressure distribution during use of the Robohand, thus decreasing the likelihood of pressure areas and injury. It is recommended that an experienced Occupational Therapist or Hand Therapist do the moulding. PLA plastic should not be used on bare skin. Although low cost and somewhat mouldable when heated, the PLA plastic’s pitted surface will collect sloughed skin cells, becoming an excellent breeding ground for bacteria. Its’ rough edges, pitted surface and inferior custom moulding characteristics make it likely to chaff the wearer causing skin lesions that may become infected. Medical Orthoplastic, when used by an experienced practitioner, is easily moulded, modified and cleaned. Use of zip ties, duct tape, and ill fitting, make shift items, like shin guards are likely to cause pressure areas. With continued use, these inappropriate items are likely to impair circulation, irritate fragile skin, sensitive scars, compress nerves and cause skin lesions.

Regarding Application/Use of the Robohand:

Robohand should only be used by children/individuals with good skin integrity and intact sensation who possess the mental capacity to safely wear and properly use it. Children should be of an age to request and understand the purpose of the device.
Wearers must inspect their skin regularly to ensure safety of fit. Any problems must be promptly addressed to prevent injury.
Amputations, crush injuries, burns and multiple or recent surgeries often result in fragile skin, compromised circulation, sensitive scars, and painful neuromas. These issues can take years to resolve and may result in a life long struggle. This last scenario is made more likely if an ill fitting device is applied or any device is applied when inappropriate. Burn victims and individuals with hyper sensation or lacking sensation are generally not good candidates for Robohands.
Please do not use children for R&D purposes as they are often unaware or unable to reliably report pain resulting from an ill fitting device.
Consult with an Occupational Therapist or Hand Therapist to determine suitability and proper fitting.

Parting Thoughts:

Robohands are a tool that can enhance performance of certain tasks; they should not be presented as a panacea. We need to be mindful of not creating unrealistic expectations. Sometimes other devices or adaptations are more helpful.

While I admire and encourage exploration of 3D printing technology to expand ways to help people with limb deficiencies find functional, low cost, life enhancing devices, I recommend the use of consenting adults who will participate in follow-up during the R&D process.

I too am excited about the new Robohand technology, but I must emphasize caution and discretion with its use. Children, their parents, and adults with limb deficiencies may be experiencing physical and emotional difficulties that people with normal limbs cannot imagine.

Let us all tread lightly and first, Do No Harm.

Sincerely,

Tyhanna Esham OTR/L RobohandUSA

Lynda Poole, OTR Paediatric Occupational Therapist

Grae Scheuber BSc(Hons), RobohandAustralia

Some things you should know about Robohand devices

Robohand — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 07:58:00 +0000

Robohand uses 3D printing to provide functional, safe, cost effective upper extremity assistive devices to help enable any individual with an upper limb difference.

Overview and Expectation of Robohand devices:

Device	Assessment Criteria	Benefit
Robofinger(The Tradesman Finger)	If people are missing the PIPJ[1] & DIPJ[2] then your MCP[3] (knuckles) needs to have equal to or greater than 30⁰ (degree) motion	Improved Fine Motor Skills
Robohand	If people are missing all or partial fingers and/or partial hand, your wrist needs to have equal to or greater than 30⁰ (degree) wrist motion)	Provides gross grasp (All fingers open/close together)
Roboarm	If people are missing fingers / hand and wrist your elbow needs to have equal to or greater than 30⁰ (degree) motion	Gross grasp as above with palm up and down capabilities

– The design of Robohand uses the motion of existing joint(s) to mechanically move (or drive) the custom made device. Robohands are not myoelectric[4]and do not require invasive surgery. Nor do they have motors or battery packs that add weight, require maintenance and increase cost. They are environmentally friendly as the PLA they are 3D printed with is biodegradable.

Safety – Robohand creator, Mr. Richard Van As, has dedicated much of his personnel time, energy and financial resources to further his personnel belief that his inventions “DO NO HARM”.

Robohand uses medical Orthoplastic that is custom molded to the wearer to limit the possibility of skin lesions, infection and injury. The Orthoplastic used by Robohand is breathable, washable and medically approved for this type of use.

A Robohand device is custom fitted which adds to client comfort. A proven statistic is 25% of people with prosthetics do not wear them due to the fact they are uncomfortable. Using medical Orthoplastic ensures Robohand will remain medically fit for use and long term wear.

Robohand uses stainless steel hardware that is less likely to fail or break, does not rust or discolor and decreases the risk of infection/injury. Dome nuts are used to decrease the likelihood of injury to yourself or others. Stainless steel is more medically appropriate than cheaper hardware. Many of our clients like to swim and bathe in their Robohands and the stainless steel does not rust or discolor.

Cost effectiveness – Every effort has and will continue to be made to keep Robohand devices cutting edge with innovative designs to increase function and manage cost while maintaining Robohand’s devotion to high product standards with the safest materials available.

Robohand’s mission is to help enable people with an upper limb difference, be more independent and interact with the world so that they might live a full and joyful life.

[1]PIP: Proximal Interphalangeal Joint – this means the middle joint of your finger

[2]DIP:Distal Interphalangeal Joint – this means the end joint of your finger

[3]MCP: Metacarpal Phalangeal Joint – the joint between your hand and finger (knuckle)

[4]Myoelectric definition: A prosthetic control technique which utilizes skin surface EMG muscle potentials for the actuation and movement of an electric powered prosthetic component)

Family Ties

Robohand — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 18:52:00 +0000

We shared the pictures of Johann receiving his Roboarm, but the story behind the story is what makes it real for us at Robohand.

Suzanne contacted Robohand inquiring about a hand for her brother. As it turned out she was in Australia and he was in South Africa. Suzanne and her husband were coming to South Africa on holiday to visit all the family and she requested if we could do Johann’s Roboarm while she was here.

We worked out all the logistics and the day before Suzanne was going to leave Australia her daughter told her that the reason they wanted them to come on holiday was that she was getting married!

So it was a double whammy holiday! After Johann received his Roboarm we asked Suzanne if she wouldn’t mind giving us some insight into her experience with Robohand. This is what she had to say:

“Around 6 weeks ago my brother Johann’s right hand was amputated at his wrist. At that time I heard about Rich van As and started the search and made the eventual contact – all the way from Australia!

My husband and I traveled to South Africa and together with Johann and his wife Melindi, met with Rich to discuss if he could help. On Tuesday, 27th August 2013, Rich welcomed us to his workshop to fit a hand for Johann. During the preceding weekend, “Maggie” the 3D printer produced the components of a new hand for Johann.

Rich assembled this and on Tuesday, spent the day fitting the hand and fine-tuning the settings. On Tuesday afternoon, Johann managed to pick up a small ball, a roll of kitchen towel and almost hold a cup. After three days he is almost completely independent again and he proudly announced on Friday that he can sign his name!
This has made a significant difference in his life and we would like to thank Rich and everyone involved in the development for the opportunity for Johann to be the recipient of a Robohand. You are special people helping those with disabilities to regain their will to live and work.”

Not a Doubting Thomas

Robohand — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 15:33:00 +0000

Meet Thomas

Thomas is 7 years old and is in Grade 1. Thomas was born with ABS like so many other children that have visited Robohand.

He is a very excited young man and chatters on and on about all sorts of things. He has a very vivid imagination. We think he just likes the sound of his own voice.

The family Brian, Mariska and Sarah-lee came to visit a few weeks ago for a fitting and to see if Thomas is a candidate for a Robohand. Since then Thomas has told his entire school that he is getting his Robohand today and everyone will be waiting patiently for him on Monday morning.

When the family arrived this morning Thomas got straight on the chair and started chattering away about getting his Robohand. As usual Rich starts with the fitting of the hand cap and gauntlet which is the most tedious and lengthy process.

When Thomas was here for his fitting, he put in a request for red and white fingers. Rich duly obliged.

It is the middle of winter here in Johannesburg at the moment and Rich’s workshop is freezing. So after some nice hot coffee and hot chocolate, we carried on with the fitting.

Thomas enjoys cricket which is his favourite activity. He can’t wait to play cricket with his new Robohand and we are hoping that it will be an extremely positive thing and he will grow from strength to strength. Thomas also believes that you shouldn’t do any running if there is no ball involved. His sister did cross country at the beginning of week and his mom asked Thomas if he would like to join in the running. Thomas’ response was “But there’s no ball, so why should I run?”

Thomas’ other pass time is Video games. He love shooting games the most but also enjoys driving games. He enjoys soccer too.

Thomas is very popular and has lots of friends. He told us that he has a girlfriend who he is going to marry but he is going to stay with his mom and dad so he doesn’t have so far to travel to school. He is good at Maths and hates vegetables, especially peas and green ones.

After another long day for Rich, Thomas has a happy grin when he leaves with his Robohand.

Tragedy Strikes but Miracles Happen!

Robohand — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 20:48:00 +0000

Meet Esethu.

Esethu is 13 years old and on the 25th December 2012 was in a horrific Taxi accident in South Africa where she was flung from the taxi through a window. Due to this accident Esethu lost her left hand completely from the wrist and her baby finger on her right hand. She also had her hip dislodged which causes her incredible pain and she battles to walk.

However, this brave young girl embraces life with a gorgeous smile and a thankful heart that she is alive, able to walk, talk and still do some of the things she could do before.

Esethu is in Grade 8 and attends a school in the Kempton Park area. She loves Maths in which she does extremely well. She has lots of friends who are incredibly supportive since her accident and when she grows up she wants to be a Civil Engineer.

Esethu and her mom Ncedeka came to see us a few weeks ago. Esethu met a young doctor at the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital where she was being treated for her injuries. Dr Amy had heard about Robohand but because Esethu had lost her hand above the wrist and did not have the movement there to use a Robohand she wasn’t sure if we could help. But she contacted Rich anyway and they came for a consultation.<

We are very proud to announce that Rich has developed Robohand further than just the wrist and it can now operate from the elbow and shoulder.

Below are the pictures documenting the creation of Robohand using the elbow to drive the mechanical device.

Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the videos of Esethu using her Roboarm

Xixi gets her Robohand

Robohand — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 19:09:00 +0000

Following our initial post about Xixi in the USA sending us molds of her hand to South Africa, we got feedback today that her Robohand arrived and she is actively using it on the first day!

When Rich received her molds he set about creating her Robohand without her physically present to fit it. There are always concerns when fitting on a mold as you cannot see how the wrist moves or if there will be any chaffing in areas.

Xixi has been trying out all sorts of things with her new Robohand. Her brother was helping her to play with a Rubiks cube; she was stacking and picking up a Coke bottle. We are so excited that her Robohand fits well and that she is using it to do all sorts of things!

Well done Xixi and welcome to the wall of fame!