By Vivian Kelly
Samantha Payne’s award-winning start up, Open Bionics, makes it possible for amputees or those born without a hand the chance to get prosthetic limbs without an exorbitant price tag.
Payne co-founded Open Bionics in 2014 and won a £201,000 cash prize at the finals of Intel’s ‘Make it Wearable Challenge’. Their creations of low-cost bionic hands were impressive for their bespoke creations inspired by superheroes from Star Wars, Iron Man and Frozen.
Courtesy of Open Bionics
Payne said: ’We’re inspired by technology and trying to replicate anatomy. The human hand is super amazing – we don’t think about it because we use them all the time, but they’re so strong, you can move them so quickly and they tell you so much about the world.’
Open Bionics comprises a four-person super team with the ability to build a fully customised bionic arm in just three days. A prosthetic arm from the NHS can take up to three months, but even three days is too long for Payne. Her determination to cut time and costs is what sparked the idea to give people the opportunity to print off their own limbs and harness 3D printing technology once and for all.
Courtesy of Open Bionics
Payne’s innovation has seen 3D scanning and printing become affordable when creating artificial limbs, with prices 20 times less expensive.
What’s more is Open Bionics’ unique ability to create customisable hands. Payne said: ’Who’s to say what your replacement hand should look like? It’s an expression of yourself.’ If a child wants to channel Princess Elsa or Iron man, they can. The impressive technology enables children and adults to take total control of their identity and self-confidence.
’These previously existed in science fiction but today they’re a reality,’ explained Payne. Anything is possible with Open Bionics.
