History
Motivation
Dr. Ete Chan is a faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) who is passionate about helping people with clinical needs using biomedical engineering solutions, and Michael Ly (Class of 2022) is a dedicated and creative BME student who has been inspired to use technology and engineering methods to improve human health (See Michael's bio).
The idea was conceived at high school. Michael made friends with a classmate born with amniotic band syndrome. Which, in her case, prevented her right fingers from fully developing. The two joked about many things including what would happen if she had a sci-fi robot hand. Fascinated with the idea, Michael specialized in BME focused on 3D design and printing. His efforts with Dr. Chan have since led to the formation of Hand in Hands, which provides a prosthetic hand in hands of anyone in need.
Collaboration with Helping Hands Long Island
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In 2021, the Stony Brook Biomedical Engineering Program reached out to an established project in Long Island known as Helping Hands Long Island. With the intention of wanting to empower the local Long Island community, the Stony Brook University BME program strived to establish a similar program, where any student could contribute at the university to help distribute free 3D printed prosthetics to those in need.
Headed by Dr. Chan and Michael Ly, the BME department learned and gained advice from Viraj Jayam, the founder Helping Hands Long Island project, and soon began its initial phases of the project. After initial discussions and planning, the prototyping and early development of this project began in the Fall 2021 semester, headed by Michael Ly who set out a call for students who were interested in contributing to the program.
The Work
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After some initial meetings, the team was able to get started on the prototyping process of the project by creating a prosthetic for a volunteering client (Guess who? Michael's childhood friend!). From the prototyping process, the team was able to establish and understand sizing, printing basics, and assembly to properly create a polished prosthetic. Additionally, the first prototype was officially completed before Thanksgiving allowing the team to establish the direction of the project in future semesters.
Currently, the team is working on finding and finalizing ways to expand the current project at Stony Brook University beyond the prototyping phase. Such goals include the establishment of a streamlined registration process, attaining a 3D printer and filament for the project, and reaching out to the community to gain a larger clientele. For current information regarding the status and updates for this project, check out the blog on our website!