Glitter and Grit

Glitter and Grit

Last year, Jordan participated in an event where she and other kids with limb differences designed their dream prosthetics. Because she’s the coolest now-11-year-old we know, Jordan’s dream was an arm that shot glitter. She called it Project Unicorn.

Ta da!

Jordan designed and prototyped her arm with a team from AutoDesk, a technology design company, in a workshop hosted by the design firm KIDmob, and the result was super unique for two reasons.

Number one: Well, it shoots glitter. Did you see the gif?!

Number two is a bit more technical. Many arm prosthetics are made for people with a functional elbow; Jordan, however, has an arm that stops right above the elbow. Her new prosthetic is an innovation: It works for Jordan’s specific needs, and it’s 3D printed, so it isn’t cost-prohibitive to make.

According to Fast Company, who wrote the original article, it’s 10 months later and her latest project is “less sparkly, but could have an even greater impact.”

Working with her prosthetist and a designer from Autodesk, Jordan has combined a medical-grade prosthetic arm with 3D-printed attachments at the wrist. That means she can interchange her usual prosthetic hook for a printed hand, a pirate’s hook, or whatever else she feels like building on her home 3D printer. This may be the first hybrid prosthetic arm made of medical and printed parts, so in a sense, Jordan has made her way to the cutting edge as the worlds of medical and 3D-printed prosthetics start coming together.

Talk about a trailblazer!

Jordan is currently working on a few new things. One is a new nonprofit, Born Just Right, to help educate parents and kids on design projects. She’s also working on a second prototype for Project Unicorn.

Check out her recent Tedx CoMo talk too!

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