What if children who are missing limbs were not only given access to the prosthetics they needed, but were able to assemble the prosthetics themselves? That's now becoming a serious possibility — with LEGOs. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Carlos Arturo Torres Tovar of the Umeå Institute of Design is working on this as a way to empower children in rehabilitation. His goal is to allow children to personalize their new limbs while satisfying their creativity and making them feel less alienated. He's created LEGO compatible prosthetics with an interchangeable hand attachment. The hand attachment can be replaced with anything the children want to build with LEGO pieces. They could pull a Buster/Arrested Development maneuver and make a hook hand, or go full Harry Potter and fashion a magic wand for themselves.
Tovar established the IKO Creative Prosthetic System, and it's entirely new to the field of prosthesis. It takes the children's needs (beyond their prosthetic needs) into account and works to help enhance their social skills. It isn't just about their muscle development, it's about the children's emotional and psychological development as well. And on a far more basic level, it just looks like a really good time, which these children deserve more than anything. Take a look at these prosthetics in action.
Their mission:
Meet Dario, one of the kids shown in their promotional video who is missing his right arm:
And then they went ahead and built this:
~LEGO compatibility~
Here's Dario with his prosthetic arm (and the LEGO attachments):
Look at what he thought to create! I'm impressed.
Watch the full video here:
Images: YouTube(6)
