When Matt’s brother Ryan lost both of his hands in an oil rig accident, Matt 
Reddit users were called into action, and two of the first companies to respond began designing prosthesis for Ryan. 
This was great news for Ryan…but wait: The same week that Cameron finished the customized HACKberry prosthetic, doctors treating Ryan decided not to remove his whole hand at the wrist and he only went through a partial amputation. The weight-lifting, reinforced HACKberry prosthetic wouldn’t fit Ryan anymore.
So, now what? Cameron posted the problem on Reddit and asked for help from designers and engineers in constructing a new prosthetic for Ryan. The response was overwhelming.
There were so many qualified people that offered to help that the project just continued to grow. A few notable contributions were offered, including: Andrew Sourk’s knowledge of Kevlar molding and Carbon Fiber, Matt Miller’s SLS printing suggestions, and Maxwell Emerald Perham’s mechanical engineering and design knowledge. David Worley has also been a key contributor in the project. He lost his bilateral upper limb in an accident and has been using prosthetics ever since. He was able to not only provide valuable insight into prosthetics from the perspective of the user, but he also offered much needed support to Ryan.
With a village of researchers, engineers, supporters and designers hard at work, the team decided to 3D print a Kevlar and carbon fiber HACKberry that includes a built in rep counter linking to Ryan’s smartphone. They decided to go in this direction when they decided that the medical industry’s smartphone operated bionic arm, the i-limb ultra revolution and its digits would be the optimal prosthetic for Ryan despite its $38,000 to $120,000 price tag. Obviously, buying two of these is not only out of the question for Ryan, but for most people.
The project is ongoing, but, based on the progress so far, the outcome is a promising one, especially if you’ve got any ideas on how to help. The method of crowdsourcing ideas and collaborating to bring much needed prosthetics to someone at a fraction of the cost is a project worth repeating. Hopefully, this isn’t the last time Reddit will bring people together for a good cause.
