A hospital provided an engineering student with a 3D-printed finger after he lost his right pinky in a motorcycle accident.
The student, Russel Ko, qualified for Tan Tock Seng Hospital's pilot study that 3D prints functional finger prostheses.
The Singaporean hospital's 3D-printed finger features movable joints and provides near-normal function.
According to a doctor in TTSH's hand and reconstructive microsurgery department, patients take better to 3D-printed fingers than myoelectric prostheses.
The procedure reportedly costs a few hundred dollars compared to the cosmetic prosthesis price of a few thousand dollars.
The hospital is also developing a 3D-printed cranial cap for patients who have had a craniectomy.
The cranial cap would act as a helmet while patients wait for a second procedure that repairs the skull
TTSH submitted an intellectual property application for the cranial cap and hopes to expand the offering through referrals and to other hospitals.
