*Chapter Spotlight Project*

Learn about the e-NABLE chapters around the world that are making things happen! This regular installment will cover 6 topics: Site & Community, Tech & Specs, Team & Specialities, Design & Process, Projects & Collaborations, and Research

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Created by Ben Rubin, last update (History) Public

SMART HAND | Aleppo, Syria | February 2020

Chapter Spotlight also available in Google Docs

Site & Community

  • Founded in 2018

  • 91 devices delivered within Syria

  • Syria has nearly 50,000 people with limb difference

    The Smart Hand chapter began in Aleppo Syria by Ahmad Alhaj Moussa, a student of the University of Aleppo pursuing a masters degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was introduced to e-NABLE in 2016, printing his first Raptor hand for a recipient volunteer named Muhammad Abo Baker as his graduation project.

    Aleppo has been at the center of the Syrian civil war since 2011. Over 50,000 people have suffered from injuries resulting in amputations. It can be a violent and unpredictable situation where continued attacks limit movement and cause outages.

    The Smart Hand team performs outreach in villages outside of Aleppo where a large number of people with amputations live. While some wear hands from ICRC services, most struggle with the device weight and ventilation or don't wear any prosthetics. They have created devices for youth as young as 4 years old.

    In total, the team has supplied about 91 prostheses since their founding in 2018, with 71 devices delivered to recipient volunteers just this past year.Smart Hand is nationally certified by the Syrian Chamber of Commerce and has been registered as a licensed business since October, 2019. In 2020 the chapter aims to meet ISO 9001 standards. The team is researching solutions for hands, arms, shoulders, and lower limb prosthetics

    Media Album

Tech & Specs

  • Lab contains six 3D Printers

    • Creality CR 10s pro
    • Creality CR 10s
    • Creality Ender 3
    • LK4 pro
    • FlashForge Guider 2s
    • Anycubic Photon DLP

  • Sense 3D Scanner (used to take measurements)

    In the beginning, the chapter used CR10s only. They have expanded into other printers capable of high temperature and using enclosures for materials like Nylon X which is needed for lower limb devices. In the future, the team plans to use other technologies like casting (aluminium and brass) and CNC machining for the lower limb prosthetics that can handle the weight of a human body.In their goals for 2020, Smart Hand aims to increase manufacturing speed to complete cases in two days, especially for cases above the elbow using NIOP Designs. They plan to explore new designs and introduce new technologies and materials.

Team & Specialities

3 Part-Time & 3 Full-Time | 7 Volunteers

  • Ahmad Haj Moussa | Chapter Founder, CEO, Mechanical Engineer, Production Engineering Director

  • Husam Bawadekji | Co-founder, Mechanical Engineer, Quality Management Director, Quality and Data Department

  • Mulham Kara Damour | Co-founder, Mechanical Engineer, Master in Production Engineering, Production Department.

  • Aya Shamsi | Volunteer, Biomedical Engineer.

  • Maher Kassar | Volunteer, Psychological Support Service Manager.

  • Ahmad Hayek | Volunteer, 12th grade.

  • Mousa Saheel | Specialist Doctor, Doctorate in Orthopedic Surgery.

    Trauma Therapy | Community Outreach | Local Partnerships

    The chapter’s members include engineers, doctors and expert therapists offering a variety of skills. Medical engineering Students from Jordan University of Science and Technology join as volunteers under a training program with 4 month placements. The team also offers community awareness services for integrating recipient volunteers through rehabilitation and empowerment programs. Additionally, they are interested in bionic device development and hope to expand their engineering and administrative team in the future.

Design & Process

When receiving new beneficiaries, the team follows a three stage process, starting with psychological support.

  1. After accepting a case, the team evaluates the mental well-being of each recipient volunteer through therapy sessions. They assess thinking patterns and the recipient volunteer’s attitude regarding their limbs, their family and friends, and the world at large. They consider how the war has impacted their lives and how to raise their spirits in preparation for the process.

  2. Next, medical specialists assess the physiological condition of the recipient volunteer and identify the most suitable available prosthesis.

  3. The last stage involves taking the dimensions of the limbs and custom fitting the device by using 3D printing and scanning techniques.

    The chapter plans to develop workshops for children.

Projects & Collaborations

XO-Shoulder

Collaboration with Nate Munro and recipient volunteer Muhammad Taljabini, cited with images in Nate Munro’s High Five Interview.

100 Hands

The project aims to deliver 10 hands every month. Smart Hand has data for around 270 people with amputations (legs and hands). 50 from this group are already awaiting hands after measurements. The hands will be provided for free along with psychological support and medical inspection services.

Field Screening

The team is developing new partnerships within the scientific community to form a bridge between Aleppo’s city resources and rural communities. Through field visits in collaboration with the Syria Trust for Development and Fouadi Foundation, they have visited Deir Hafer, Safira, and other rural villages outside Aleppo to identify people with loss of limbs and to provide medical screening. Ninety two people have been checked during 3 field visits. The team is working to provide support for all cases with a goal of providing devices within two months.

Heroes Project

Developed in partnership with the Syria Trust for Development, the project offers psychological support and promotes inclusion for people with limb differences through prosthesis. Since it's establishment in 2018, the chapter has provided 60 workshops on acceptance and integration of people with disabilities in the community, involving more than 1200 people and many age groups.

Academic Scholarship

The chapter has supported three Graduate projects including a Master's Thesis.

  • An in-progress graduate project in Mechanical Engineering for locally manufacturing filament.

  • A graduate ‘Flare Soul’ project in Fine Arts is designing a center that will provide rehabilitation to numerous cases of recipient volunteers identified by the Smart Hand chapter. They aim to support active lifestyles for people with disabilities.

  • A master’s thesis on social adjustment by people with amputations during the war. Smart Hand provided case study information about recipient volunteer work histories.

Research

Lower Limb Research

With more than 70% of Syria’s amputations resulting in the loss of a leg, the team has begun working on several trial solutions. They began testing designs from Thingiverse and casting ankles from Aluminium with additional printed parts. A CNC machine is used to clean surfaces. Materials research is conducted on TPU and fiberglass for sockets. e-NABLE member Christian Silva of Columbia has provided consulting for legs above the knee. The project is also interested in making exo-skeleton devices.

Funding & Sustainability

The chapter aims to provide free prosthetics in a number of ways; either through individuals who donate for individual cases or through agencies that support a certain number of cases. Smart Hand has had 12 individual cases supported by independent people, while the rest were directly supported by the Syrian government and the Syrian Trust for Development. Support has been limited to covering raw materials, printer costs, and monthly stipends for technical team members.

Sources of income include 3D printing services for engineering projects, architecture students, and industrial business projects. In the future, the chapter aims to secure new investment by building a factory to manufacture pulleys. Part of the income would go to printing prosthetics for cases.

Public Presence

In February 2019, the Smart Hand team organized a workshop to review the latest local innovations made in Syria, specifically addressing prosthetics serving injuries of war. They conducted a workshop at the Arab Generation School to teach student 3D printing and using TinkerCad in cooperation with other private companies. In April 2019, twenty five recipient volunteers participated in a Heroes Fair event.

Publications

In 2020, the team plans to participate in scientific conferences in Syria and Lebanon.