3D-Printed Hand Enables Girl’s First Pitch
3D-Printed Hand Enables Girl’s First Pitch
Hailey Dawson was born with a rare disease, but a 3D printer is changing her life.
3D-Printed Hand Enables Girl’s First Pitch. Hailey is seven years old; with the help of a 3D printed hand, she threw her first pitch!!!!
“She has no fear. When she waves, she waves with her little hand. When kids want to hold her hand, that’s the hand she pulls out. She has no care about what other people think,” said Yong Dawson, Hailey’s mom. “When people ask her, she says, ‘This is what I was born with. You were born with blue eyes; I was born with his hand. This is me.’”
Hailey began her run of ceremonial first pitches a few years ago at a University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels game, not far from where the Dawsons live. The Dawson family collaborated with researchers from South Africa to the U.S. — to find a hand that fits just right.
The 3D-printed hand project has been led by Dr. Mohamed Trabia, the associate dean for Research, Graduate Studies, and Computing at UNLV, and a professor of mechanical engineering, as well as Dr. Brendan O’Toole, chair of the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and director of the College of Engineering’s Mendenhall Innovation Program that’s focused on entrepreneurship and design.
