Open Bionics create affordable, accessible 3D printed limbs

Open Bionics is revolutionising healthcare by using 3D scanning and 3D printing to dramatically cut the cost of fitting hand amputees with robotic prosthetics.

Bionic limbs can cost anything from £20,000 to £80,000, and can take up to three months to make. Open Bionics offer a bionic hand for £1,000, and by using 3D scanning, modelling and printing, it can be created in just five days.

A start-up of just four people aged 23-24, Open Bionics is driven by wanting to create and see social change. Working closely with hand amputees, the team have created a light, affordable, functional and stylish bionic hand – a hand amputees enjoy wearing. Not only does this use of technology change people’s lives on a daily basis, it also helps them get back into work, giving them greater independence and freedom.