Foundation prints 3D prosthetics, gives them free in Uruguay

The first thing 11-year-old Mia Rodríguez did with her new prosthetic hands was draw a picture of a kitten. The Uruguayan girl, whose fingers did not fully develop, puts on the prosthetic hands and demonstrates the grasping movement she can now make. “Now I can hold the pencil with one hand,” she said, while her mother Ana Van López watches excitedly. Rodríguez received the protheses from the Uruguayan Manos de Héroes foundation, which designs and prints hands and arms with 3D technology for children and adults across the South American country. Since 2020, the foundation has provided more than 100 free prostheses.