Digital design and 3D printing are opening up many new doors in the world of prosthetics and are providing thousands of amputees' with new options to recover what they have lost. Thanks to researchers at Saarland University, patients may soon be able to use a functioning and realistic looking prosthetic.

These researchers have recently developed and 3D printed the first "smart hand." The smart hand utilizes "muscles" composed of wires that are moved by electric charges. These "wire muscles" allow the hand to tense and relax so that a user can perform manual tasks. One can imagine that if researchers can 3D print a smart hand, then this type of innovation could expand to the rest of the body as well.

For more information, visit: http://3dprint.com/83603/smart-hands-3d-printing-bionic-prosthetics/ .

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