Biomedical 3D Printing Company Bioniks Launches Superhero Prosthetics Crowdfunding Campaign

November 18, 2016 by Sarah Saunders 3D Printers 3D Printing Medical 3D Printing

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This summer we introduced you to 5-year-old Mir Bayyaan Baloch, the first child in Pakistan to ever receive a 3D printed prosthetic arm, thanks to revolutionary biomedical 3D printing company Bioniks. The company is the first of its kind in Pakistan, and they aim to give the world a helping hand through the use of their prosthetics. They recently launched a crowdfunding campaign in the hopes of giving kids with disabilities the kind of life they wish for, by turning them into superheroes with their prosthetics!

Mir Bayyaan’s father reached out to Bioniks for help in creating an affordable prosthetic for his son, whose forearm stops right above where his wrist would be. The company, along with 3D printing equipment and services provider company Viscous.co, used a printer from Xplorer3D (the first 3D printer manufacturer in Pakistan) at NED University of Engineering and Technology to design and print an Unlimbited Arm for Mir Bayyaan. Printed in bright orange and yellow, it evokes an image of popular Marvel superhero Iron Man, Mir Bayyaan’s favorite; the prosthetic even shoots out a beam of light!

Mir Bayyaan was thrilled with his functional, comfortably fitting arm, which he can use to grasp and hold objects, shake hands, and give high fives. Ovais Qureshi and Anas Niaz, the co-founders of Bioniks, took on the challenge of building his prosthetic as a special project. After they completed Mir Bayyaan’s arm, they continued to receive requests for prosthetics from other Pakistani cities, including Karachi and Nawabshah.

They realized that, although 3D printing was emerging as a popular technology worldwide, availability was still scarce in their nation. That’s when they decided to launch their ‘Real Life Superheroes’ crowdfunding campaign on the Zingohub platform for creators and innovators. The campaign aims to reach out and make a positive change in the lives of children with disabilities, by improving the technology and making it more accessible to those in need of prosthetics. They want to give these ‘real life superheroes’ a boost of strength and confidence, with the superhero prosthetic of their choice.

“What we saw in Pakistan, it’s a really difficult case. For example, if some child is an amputee, and he feels like he has something missing. So what we have to do, we have to create something in a unique way,” says Niaz. He continues, “We need some funds so that we can make the exact Ironman, and other superhero prosthetics, so that children can feel motivated.”

With funds raised from the campaign, Bioniks plans to:

Offer at least two kinds of superhero prosthetics
Buy a large 3D printer in order to make adult prosthetics
Better market their prosthetic technology in order to reach out to more people

If you choose to donate to the campaign, you can even win some cool prizes: everything from a “3D Printing Is the Future” sticker and a social media shoutout from Bioniks for a $10 donation, to a tour of the Bioniks 3D printing facility with a $1,000 Gold Level donation. For more information, and a full list of rewards, visit the Real Life Superheroes crowdfunding campaign page.

After the campaign is complete, Bioniks has some superhero-sized plans. They want to work on different open source models to enhance their efficiency. They will also look into different projects based on artificial intelligence, and plan on helping students turn projects into products with 3D printing technology. Discuss in the Bioniks forum at 3DPB.com.