Johns Hopkins engineering students build custom walker for tiny toddler

[tomalpha]

I hate to overplay these things (I'm a stereotypically emotionally repressed Brit of the old school), but it's nice to see a positive story and have something to celebrate.

Bravo guys and girls.

[ben_jones]

We are inundated with news that outrages, saddens, and depresses. Whether it's because we have a natural affinity and attraction to such news, or because algorithms put them in front of us for profit, I believe it greatly detracts from the human experience.

Bravo, and thank you OP for sharing.

[dumbfounder]

There was a senior design class I took at JHU in Mechanical Engineering where outside companies and a few individuals would sponsor design projects, some which are similar to this story. In my class one group build a pedal for a bike for someone with a prosthetic leg. It was an amazing class where you were presented a problem, and then you designed and implemented, or created a prototype of, a solution. It was 20 years ago but I would imagine they still have something similar.

[L_Rahman]

Fellow alum here, most engineering majors still have a similar design project as a significant chunk of how they spend senior year.

For mine (I was a biomedical engineering undergrad) we built a computational model of the metabolism of HIV drug cocktails are various dosages modulated by factors like age, weight and phase of HIV infection.

[notlob]

Your experience is standard practice for engineering senior design (sometimes called capstone).

[mdo123]

I did the same thing at JHU (albeit only 15 years ago). My project was a pill dispensing machine for a quadriplegic man.

[chiefalchemist]

I'd like to see something similar to an adult version of this. My father had a stroke about 2-3 months ago. Best I can tell what's being passed off today as "physical therapy" hasn't changed in 25 - 50 years.

Holding a guy by the belt of his pants while he pushes a walker that too easily rolls ahead of him just feels dumb. I also think he finds the approach demoralizing. I have to believe there's a better way(s) that don't coat some ridiculous amount of money.

[michaelbuckbee]

Not directly about the story, but just wanted to note what a fantastic resource 3d printers are for kids needing prosthetics and other enablement hardware (like this walker).

From both a technical and humanitarian perspective I think it's far and away the best current use for consumer level 3d printing.

https://3dprint.com/180365/e-nable-robotel-turkiye-chapter/

[twic]

A few years ago i learned about a company (well, a couple) trying to make 3D-printed orthotics (back braces and so on) for children, based on scans of their bodies:

http://andiamo.io/

http://andiamo.io/background/

The key thing is reducing the turnaround time; at the moment, the lag between a child getting measured and getting the orthotic means they've grown out of it by the time they get it.

[mikhael]

If anyone is interested in supporting the use of technology to assist those with disabilities, you might consider donating to the Seth Teller Memorial Fund: http://courses.csail.mit.edu/PPAT/SethTellerMemorialFund.pdf

[sparrish]

I'm inspired that engineering students would make something useful for a change and something so impactful to a beautiful little life. Hopefully more higher ed programs will follow this example.

[wombatpm]

Back in 91-92 the biomed Eng students at University of Illinois built a cart for a dog that lost both hind legs to a downed powerline. Dog could run (it had wheels), sit, and most importantly squat to poop. They ran out of time and money to make a version that would allow for leg lifting and proper boy-dog peeing.

[madengr]

Most things engineers make are useful. Note I’m talking about traditional hardware engineering, not software engineering of things like Tinder.

[asow92]

The chair of my CS department at school worked on a project like this years ago: https://faculty.ithaca.edu/sstansfield/totsOnBots/ Not sure what's come of it in recent years.

[pjkundert]

Tragically, this device is illegal in Canada - and would result in a $100,000 fine if imported.

[eitland]

Why? (I understand it is some law or regulation, but what is it meant to prevent/encourage?)