University research centre creates new leg for rescue dog
Rescue dog Duke, an Irish retriever, was born with a birth defect in his front right leg and faced having it amputated. But thanks to CBM he is now running around after they printed him a bespoke prosthesis, similar to blades used by Paralympians.
The Wales Centre for Advanced Batch Manufacture (CBM) is a research centre established by the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, which specialises in advanced manufacturing technologies and their novel application to the manufacturing and other sectors of the economy.
When Duke was found abandoned in Ireland in 2016, his paw was deformed and he could not walk on all fours. He was taken to the pound and rehomed. After a massive fundraising campaign Duke has been fitted with a state-of-the-art prosthetic by CBM, after narrowly avoiding having his foot amputated.
His new owner said Duke, who is now three, was delighted by his new ‘super leg’ which meant he was walking on four paws for the first time. The three-dimensional leg was about a year in a making, and a few months down the line Duke is getting so much use out of it he has already had to have it refurbished.
The leg was entirely printed out of a machine apart from a rubber foot, some Velcro and foam at the top to make it more comfortable for Duke.
A spokesperson for the University said creating Duke’s leg was a real challenge for the team, who worked with his new owner and a consultant orthopaedic surgeon on the design. The team had to assess Duke and take into consideration such things as the thickness of the hairs as the smallest details need to be taken into account.