Xavier students use 3D technology to help three-legged service dog

Xavier University's Center for Innovation, home of a full-scale MakerBot 3D printing center, has proved once again that innovation comes in many forms.
 
On April 29, Gary Lewondowski's Human Centered Making students fitted a three-legged dog for a prosthetic leg at the Center. The dog, named Tiny, is a service dog for 4 Paws for Ability, an organization that provides aid to children worldwide.

When 4 Paws contacted Xavier in March about Tiny's need for a leg, the 3D-printer-equipped team barely knew where to start. It's one thing to craft a 3D-printed item, quite another to make it a functioning part of a living creature.
 
Fortunately for the students and faculty at the Center, a Xavier alum was able to come to the rescue. Christine Geeding, a prosthetics professional at J.F. Rowley Prosthetics and Orthotics, brought her expertise to the classroom as the Human Centered Making students brainstormed for several weeks.
 
“It was fascinating to explore 3-D printing and how it relates to prosthetics,” Geeding says.
Tiny being fitted with the 3D-printed leg 
Using the Center's new 3D printers, the Xavier students were able to fit Tiny with the flexible inner liner as well as the rigid frame. They also monitored Tiny's first steps to assess the harness suspension and alignment.
 
"Tiny did more than we ever expected," says Mary Curran-Hackett of the Center for Innovation. "Her quick adjustment to the prosthetic was incredible."
 
According to Geeding, Tiny reached a level 3 on the adaptation scale the first day. Most of Geeding's human patients can only reach level 1 on their first attempt.
 
Though the prosthetic itself, designed with software from Cincinnati startup Batterii, is still slightly rudimentary, it's the culmination of six weeks of hard work from the students. They'll now make length and fit adjustments based on what they observed the first day.
 
"It may sound funny to say it this way, but we've taken a huge step in the right direction," Curran-Hackett says.