Nunavut amputee to get new 3D robotic hands

Persistence is everything: Even without hands, Romeo Tucci, as seen here in the kitchen of his Cambridge Bay home, can prepare some of his favourite foods. Before returning to the western Nunavut community, he spent two weeks at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton. (PHOTO/ GOFUNDME.COM)

This photo from the gofundme.com site for a “3D Printer that gives a hand” shows what Romeo Tucci’s new hand will look like. (PHOTO/ GOFUNDME)

Romeo Tucci, the Cambridge Bay man who lost his two hands to frostbite in early April, has two new things to look forward to: first, a new right hand and, then, later, a new left hand.

“This is an amazing gift from an amazing soul who has stepped up to offer my brother a bionic hand [and] a second chance at life,” wrote Tucci’s sister, Christina, on their gofundme.com site, which has raised more than $12,000 towards its fundraising goal of $50,000.

After receiving medical treatment in Edmonton, nearly a month after his hands were frozen, Tucci ended up losing most of his hands and all his fingers to amputation. Surgeons had no choice but to amputate after gangrene set it.

After surgery, Tucci then went to Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton where he was taught basic life skills — and also learned how to paint. Back in Cambridge Bay since April 26, Tucci, a chef, has also managed to return to his kitchen to cook, as photos on his fundraising site show.

Soon, he’ll be able to manoeuvre there with more ease thanks to hands made by a company called the World of 3D Printing.

The company’s Justin Brawley is the “amazing soul,” who has already built Tucci a three-dimensional prosthetic robotic hand known as a “hackberry.” The hand has a flexible wrist, partially motorized fingers and low-cost parts, contained in a white 3D, printed plastic shell.

Brawley said he has already printed the 3-D plastic parts for Tucci’s right hand, which is now being assembled.

Built by what Brawley called “a community of people,” this hand works by two sensors attached to the forearm.

“So when you squeeze the forearm it sends a signal to that hand that tells it to open and close,” he told Nunatsiaq News.

Meanwhile, Brawley has also launched a gofundme.com site to raise some money to cover expenses.

“We need to receive some donations in order to travel so that we can get together in person and to complete the second hand as the first hand I have [made] came out of pocket,” Brawley said on Facebook.

Bawley also aims to provide 50 people with “a fully functional 3-D printed robotic hackberry hand, a 3-D printer (built by me), a laptop to run the printer, and all instructions,” so that they can print new pieces for their hands for the rest of their lives.

While the cost of the 3-D hands runs into the hundreds of dollars, conventional prosthetic hands can cost more than $50,000.