Jessica Kelso looks forward to the day she will be able to shake the hand of the recipient of the prosthetic hand that she created at her high school.
The 16-year-old West Ferris student is part of the Technical Design Course at the local high school which has been working for over a year to be part of a program that creates and delivers prosthetic hands to children in need.
“I went to Kenya last year, so there I saw a lot of disabilities like this so this is just something near and dear to my heart,” said Kelso, about some of the injured and sick children she saw first hand.
With instructor Michel Chenier’s, guidance, Kelso has helped develop and create three different hands, including the white “Storm Trooper” hand which would be worn by a child around three to four years of age, the “Hulk” hand which would be for an older child about six years of age, and then the generic orange “Raptor” hand design.
“The 'Raptor' hand is specifically made for someone who is missing their fingers, so basically the hand gets strapped in and when they bend their wrist the tension lines will pull and it will pull the fingers in so it gives them a grip,” explains Kelso.
The helping hands are created by the school’s 3D printer. Kelso says the next step is to become a chapter of the organization called E-Nable, which is a global organization that is encouraging people like Kelso to use 3D printers to create free 3D printed hands and arms for people in need of an upper limb assistive device.
To do that, they need to have the prototypes sent to e-NABLE so the local design meets the requirements.
“This is a free and really simple, easy and fun way for the kids to get a prosthetic and an opportunity they would have never had,” she said.
Kelso says the program is getting the “thumbs up” from the rest if her classmates too.
She is also encouraging anyone in need of a prosthetic hand to contact West Ferris Senior Secondary, if they would possibly want to be the local projects first recipient.
