Emma's Story

3D printing is an exciting technology but if all it produces are plastic toys or odd-shaped creatures, it seems a waste of resources. Should a complex technology be used for such unimportant things? Wouldn’t a better use of 3D printing be to change lives? And this is what 3D printing did for Emma Lavell! Emma can now play with toys, feed herself and hug her parents because of 3D printing.

Emma, was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC), giving her undeveloped muscles so that she was unable to lift her arms by herself. Emma’s mother was at a conference for parents of children with AMC and learned about the Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX), a device made of hinged metal bars and resistance bands. But because Emma was so small, the device was too big and heavy for her to use. 

A team of scientists at the Center for Orthopedics Research and Development at Delaware's Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, a pediatric health system that works at solving many unique problems for children, designed and 3D-printed a child-size WREX, making a lightweight vest and parts that fit Emma. Emma named her 3D printed plastic device “Magic Arms” because now she is able to do things that are typical of a child her age. Emma wears a vest printed from ABS plastic attached to lightweight limbs. The limbs have a joint and resistance bands on the upper arms and forearms to allow Emma to move her arms in space. As Emma grows the parts can be replaced to match her size and if anything breaks, it can be replaced quickly.