Design review for and Adaptive Utensil Aid for Feeding

Power Ring, designed by 2robotguy, from the Pinshape.com website for 3D models.
https://pinshape.com/items/25821-3d-printed-power-ring

Hi everyone!
Let me get this out of the way first. I receive nothing for posting these reviews, and the opinions are my own. The purpose of this is to share my experiences as an OT utilizing a 3D printer, and I hope these posts provide learning for all involved.

The Power Ring is a design I selected to print with a specific client in mind. This client was recovering from a spinal injury, and was unable to close her fingers around anything. She had enough movement to bring items up to her mouth, but was dependent upon others to feed her. This is very distressing to someone who was so independent, and physically fit prior to her injury. As an Occupational Therapist, I work with people to help them be as independent as possible, including using adaptive equipment.

So, here is the problem: inability to hold items in the hand due to weak or absent grasp.
Solution: find an adaptive equipment that she can slide onto her hand and substitute for the lack of grasp.

The Power Ring is designed by 2robotguy. That's all I know about this gentleman, except that he created this model where he saw a need for a person unable to hold utensils. He has a doberman, (his face icon and a Christmas ornament have the dogs picture). I am pretty sure he likes robots. He has over 95 designs of various objects, many that I have no clue what they are. But, it was still fun to look at all of them. Here is his design:

Now if you sense that something is different in this picture than the one posted on 2robotguy's site, you are correct. I didn't bent my spoon in this picture at the end. I didn't want to bend another spoon for the picture, because this isn't how I used this design.  I gave her one that looked more like this:

What you can't see well in the picture is the design of the part where the spoon goes in. There is a slit on one side that creates some give when you put the utensil in, and holds it really well. We picked up an inexpensive utensil set at a local store. That way you can customize the bend in the utensil for the client you are creating this for. The end of the utensil can't be too wide, or it won't go into to slit. When the hand is closed it looks like this:

This is a very natural position for the hand. The thumb just rests on the spoon, and no gripping is needed by the fingers or the thumb. This print took me about 8 hours to complete, which really isn't that long in the 3D printing world. I usually start my prints in the workday morning taking less than 10 minutes to prepare the print and get it started. Then I just go and do all my other work activities, and take about another 5 minutes of post print clean-up. The spoon does need to be bent, so have the tools ready to do this for your client.

2robotguy has 4 different sizes available. This is not a print you can just change the size, because if you do so on your slicer, the part where the spoon goes also changes. I've made samples of each size as seen below.

And yet, the slit for the utensil is the same size:

What's really nice about this design is the rounded edges. It is very comfortable on the hand. There are 4 sizes to choose from. The utensil is very secure, yet easy to remove for cleaning.

However.... I do wish that the circle where the hand is inserted was a bit more rounded. Our hands have a natural arc to them. I have large hands, and I couldn't place mine into the size which circumferentially was best for my hand. Instead I had to use the larger size which was not as secure on my hand.

Any designers out there? This is what I want the hand piece to look like:

So, what did my client think about this design? "I love it, I use it every day!"

The first print lasted 6 weeks of daily use, however the part where the spoon rests into started to separate. I used orthotic acetone product to "melt" the pieces together, however it didn't last. I increased the density to 25% infill, and increased the wall size. The print is ABS material, and the client selected the color herself. The cost of the print is under $2.00. She is now using her second print.

The potential to print this model for individual use in an inpatient rehabilitation department is very cost effective. It is inexpensive and can be customized for the client.  

 I did caution her not to place the print into the dishwasher as it probably wouldn't tolerate the heat. The ABS material used is not food safe (don't put food directly on any print unless the material is deemed safe for this)

I think 2robotguy did a great job on this design, and I truly appreciate the time he took to make this design.

Happy Printing!

Sandy S