This Paralympian will be the first cyclist to compete with a 3D-printed prosthetic leg

Athlete Denise Schindler, who lost her right leg in a car crash at age 2, has a motto: "Never stop spinning."

For the past decade, Schindler has been cycling professionally, even winning a silver medal at the 2012 London Paralympics.

For the upcoming Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, she'll achieve another milestone: becoming the world's first cyclist to compete with a 3D-printed prosthetic leg.

Schindler worked with Autodesk to create the leg. According to Paul Sohi, the project's lead designer, 3D printers can build better prosthetics than the ones we have today.

Manufacturing a prosthetic is usually a slow and difficult process and requires many iterations to get right. In contrast, 3D printing a prosthetic is quicker, cheaper, and easier to personalize for the wearer, Sohi says.

To make the prosthetic, Autodesk took a 3D scan of Schindler's left leg, eliminating the need for a plastic mold. Using a cloud-based design tool, the team went through 52 digital versions of the prosthetic to find the perfect version. 

Next, a team from Reha Technik Wellmer, a German engineering firm, 3D-printed it in a matter of minutes. The new prosthetic weighs roughly half what Schindler's old carbon fiber leg did, dramatically boosting her riding abilities.

To train for competitions, Schindler rides for four to five hours a day. So it was important for the leg to be sturdy. According to Sohi, the polycarbonate prosthetic can hold up longer than carbon fiber. It's also softer than carbon fiber, making it feel more like human skin.

To put the prosthetic on, Schindler slides her residual limb into the snug socket and rolls a neoprene sock over the top. A small valve squeezes air out each time her leg adjusts, ensuring a constant, airtight fit.

Since blood flow to the legs increases as the body heats up, it's crucial that the prosthetic is adaptable. She's been training with it for the past few months and says it helps her rides since it automatically adjusts to her body.

Autodesk isn't selling this particular prosthetic to the public.

The goal of the project is to explore the use of design and engineering software to improve prosthetics, Sohi says. He plans to share the 3D printing process with other prosthetic engineers around the world.

"Hopefully anyone who needs a prosthetic is going to see this process just become the new norm very soon," he says.

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