---
title: "Welcome to a World That Prints Prosthetic Limbs"
description: "Paraguayan company Po teamed up with Thalmic Labs to create the MyPo, a 3D printed prosthetic arm that reads arm gestures and turns them into movement. Less than 3% of the people in Paraguay who need a prosthetic can afford one, so developments like these that make prosthetics affordable are a game changer."
date: "2016-11-23"
modified: "2016-11-23"
authors:
  - name: "Jelor Gallego"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jelor-gallego.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/welcome-to-a-world-that-prints-prosthetic-limbs"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
  - "Prosthetics and Devices"
tags:
  - "3d printing"
  - "myoelectric"
  - "mypo"
  - "prosthetics"
---

# Welcome to a World That Prints Prosthetic Limbs

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/mypo.jpg>)
*Credit: Po \<em\>Image: \<a href="http://www.po.com.py/" target="\_blank"\>Po\</a\>\</em\>*

3D printing technology is increasingly being used for medical applications, with printed bones, joints, and organs being developed with functionalities similar to their organic counterparts. A big part of this trend is 3D printing prosthetic limbs. While some companies are treating it as a research focus, others are using 3D tech as a means of social entrepreneurship.

One of the latter companies is Paraguay's [Po](<http://www.po.com.py/>). Less than 3 percent of the people in that country who need a prosthetic can afford one. To remedy this, Po uses 3D printing technology to deliver advanced prosthesis in different sizes and colors to the people who can't afford them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=7XoglCG6fLE

Over 100 Po hands are in the field right now, but the real game changer is the company's partnership with [Thalmic Labs](<https://www.thalmic.com/>), creator of the Myo. The Myo uses myoelectric technology to read arm movements and transmit them to electronic devices. This partnership resulted in the MyPo, a 3D printed prosthetic arm that reads arm gestures and turns them into movement.

“At a fraction of the cost, MyPo mirrors the traditional functionality of a prosthetic hand, including several grips, degrees of freedom, and it can even integrate applications that already exist with the Myo armband,” Po co-founder Eric Dijkhuis [told *TechCrunch*](<https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/21/po-3d-prints-personalized-prosthetic-limbs-for-the-needy-in-south-america/>).

Po is not the only player in the field of 3D printed or myoelectric prostheses. Some are already offering prosthetic legs, arms, and [even faces,](<https://3dprint.com/154840/3d-printed-facial-prosthetic/>) all customized to the user's size. Another company, [Motorika](<http://motorika.com/>), has released the Stradivary, a myoelectric prostheses like MyPo. Still others are [even open-sourcing](<http://www.wired.co.uk/article/samantha-payne-bionic-arm-builder>) the schematics to build their 3D printed limbs, so one day in the near future, anyone in the world who needs a prosthetic may be able to download and print one for themselves.

## More

- [3D Printing Is Being Used to Make Prosthetic Bones for Cancer Patients](<https://futurism.com/3d-printing-used-make-prosthetic-bones-cancer-patients.md>)
- [Examples of 3D Printing Helping Injured Animals](<https://futurism.com/examples-of-3d-printing-helping-injured-animals.md>)
- [First 3D-Printed Drug Just Unveiled—Welcome to the Future of Medicine](<https://futurism.com/first-3d-printed-drug-just-unveiled-welcome-future-medicine.md>)
- [A New 3D Printed Bionic Hand Could Help Two Million Worldwide](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/a-new-3d-printed-bionic-hand-could-help-two-million-worldwide.md>)
- [You Can Now Download and Print Your Own Bionic Arm](<https://futurism.com/you-can-now-download-and-print-your-own-bionic-arm.md>)
- [Surgeons Gave This Adorable Cat Four Amazing 3D-Printed Paws](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/cat-amazing-3d-printed-paws.md>)
- [Get a Remarkably Accurate 3D Printed Action Figure…Of Yourself](<https://futurism.com/get-a-remarkably-accurate-3d-printed-action-figure-of-yourself.md>)
- [MIT’s 3D-Printed Shape-Shifting Objects Could Revolutionize Medicine](<https://futurism.com/mits-3d-printed-shape-shifting-objects-could-revolutinize-medicine.md>)