CHESTERFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — A group of high school students in metro Detroit used a 3D printer to create a life-changing prosthetic arm for a 10-year-old boy on the other side of the state.
Watch Evan Sery's video report:
Kaysen Green, 10, was born without part of his arm. In December, students from Austin Catholic High School in Chesterfield surprised him with his first prosthetic limb.
"Using it, makes everything a little more easier," Green said.
The students collaborated with the e-NABLE project, an NIH 3D open-source community that uses 3D printing to create prosthetics. Laura Hayden, the school's STEAM coordinator, helped guide the students through the printing and assembly process.
"With prosthetics costing tens of thousands of dollars, we were able to help," Hayden said.
The donated arm has given Green new independence. He can now ride bikes, cut food, and pick up drinks.
"He started running around the room, he picked up a Kleenex, then set it down, then he ran and grabbed his mother’s hair," Hayden said.
Hayden added that Green was also able to do the "6, 7 thing," which excited the students.
Abigail Glynn, a senior at Austin Catholic High School, was part of the small group that worked on the project.
"By the time we left, within an hour, he was already bouncing the ball and grabbing it with the same arm he had just gotten," Glynn said.
The 3D-printed design allows the students to adapt the prosthetic as Green gets older.
"What we can do with this, as he grows, we can get different measurements and everything," Glynn said.
Green admits he does not wear the prosthetic all the time, but he loves using it when he does. He has already requested a new orange and blue version.
The new arm has also made him popular among his classmates.
"Everybody was like high five me, high five me, so I just started doing it," Green said.
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