350 Prosthetic Hands Donated to Ukrainian War Victims

The war in Ukraine began on 24th February 2022 with the Russian invasion of the country. Since then, millions of lives have been affected and countless citizens and soldiers have suffered serious injury resulting in amputation. This is tragic, of course- how could additive manufacturing help?

In fact, 3D printing can be used to produce prosthetic limbs for said war victims. In the most recent example, a researcher named Gerwin Smit at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands has developed a prosthetic hand made using a hybrid method of 3D printing and laser cutting. These hands have been distributed and used in India since 2021 and, thanks to Indian social enterprise firm Vispala, are now available in Ukraine. Vispala has donated 350 of the hands to Ukraine with the help of an American IT company named Cisco.

The iGrip, or ‘Hundred Dollar Hand’, so-called for its low price, is a reliable and accessible solution for the 80% of the global population who live in countries for whom prosthetic hands are usually prohibitively expensive. The delivery of the hands was a momentous occasion, taking place in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the presence of Ukrainian ministers and the ambassadors of the US and India.