Alabama Student Offers Children in Need 3D-Printed Prosthetics

Valerie Levine is changing lives three-dimensionally.

The summer before her junior year, this University of Alabama student started tinkering with a 3D printer with no goal in mind. But less than a year later, Valerie realized that “It Just Means More” when you can use a 3D printer to better a child’s quality of life.

So Valerie creates artificial hands for kids in need — free of charge.

Having established the Alabama Prosthetic Project, this student creates 3D-printed prosthetics for those who may not otherwise be able to afford them. The best part? Along with being free, these limbs often fit better than other prosthetics the children may or may not be able to access.

You may be wondering — how did Valerie go from tinkering with a 3D printer to serving an underserved group of people?

Well, the inspiration came from the lab of Dr. Jason Bara, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at UA, where Levine has researched since the fall of 2015.

“I was really impressed with Valerie’s idea to use the printers to build prosthetics,” said Dr. Bara. “I pretty much allow my students to work independently on the 3D printers and come up with creative ideas. So Valerie definitely took advantage of a resource available to her and put it to good use.”

Valerie is simply grateful she was able to identify such a use. As she puts it, “This is such a great project to have had the opportunity to found, as it provides for children who may not otherwise have a prosthetic device. We hope to grow this project and provide as many children as possible with prosthetic hands.”

The Alabama Prosthetic Project offers a special advantage for children, who often outgrow conventional prosthetics that usually cost tens of thousands of dollars, very quickly. Levine creates her products using ABS plastic, fishing lines, and elastic string through the fingers. Standard screws can increase or decrease the wearer’s grip.

A lot went in to fine-tuning these devices. Levine met with prosthetic specialists, physical therapists, and orthopedic surgeons at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham to create the perfect design for her patients.

And thankfully, Levine isn’t taking on this project alone. Early on she recruited two other students from her program, Amanda Flamerich and Sam Sheriff, to help with marketing, promotion, and photography.

The trio has no plans to stop anytime soon and will perhaps continue the project beyond graduation.

As Levine casually puts it, “Other people like playing video games in their spare time. I like building prosthetics.” To us, “It Just Means More” than an interest in building prosthetics. It’s a life-changing opportunity for children in need.