Sand Springs Student Receives Prosthetic Hand Created By Seventh Graders

Back in April, we heard about the seventh-grade science classes at Sand Springs' Clyde Boyd Middle School printing a prosthetic hand for another student.

Well, Wednesday was fitting day and Jacob Sheppard said his new hand is amazing in lots of different ways.

Rick: "What makes it move?"
Sheppard: "My wrist...like, if I move it forward it closes. If I move it back it opens."

Sheppard is 17 and will be a senior next year. He was born with an incomplete right hand - he has a bit of a wrist and that's all. He's had chances for prosthetics before and always said no.

"I didn't take it because I didn't know if it would be affective enough to use, 'cause I can do a lot of stuff by myself already," he said.

But teachers Janet Johnson, Kenneth Cole and Jill Sandberg approached him with the idea; they had the 3D printers, their students were learning how muscles and tendons work together, and they were gonna 3D print a hand anyway.

4/25/2016 Related Story: Sand Springs Students Use 3D Printer To Create Hand

Sheppard said, "I came into it with the mindset of ‘I get to help all these kids see it in actual use,’ like school is actually doing something for someone."

So, throughout the semester he talked to classes, they asked questions, and they 3D printed the parts and assembled a working hand.

Now Sheppard is discovering new things to do - shaking hands, or even a fist bump.

The hand is the result of one semester's work.

Next year they hope to modify Sheppard’s hand by adding more technology to give him a little more function.