Girl Born Without Hand Gets 3D-Printed ‘Frozen’ Prosthetic

This is one young Disney princess who’s getting a fairytale ending. It’s just a little different than what we see in the movies.

Karissa Mitchell from Stillwater, New York, was born without her right hand and most of her wrist, but students at Siena College in upstate New York knew they could help her.

The students, along with an eight-member team at e-NABLE, created a 3D-printed prosthetic hand. To make the gift extra special, the team created the arm in an ice blue color with decorative snowflakes to represent Mitchell’s favorite movie, Frozen.

“It’s awesome,” said Mitchell, who can be seen opening and closing her new fingers around a stuffed Olaf. “It feels like I have a real hand.”

According to the college, the Mitchell family approached e-NABLE after seeing the group create a 3D-printed Iron Man hand for a boy last year.

“When we met Karissa and her family, they were so nice and it was a great fit,” said Alyx Gleason, a physics major and junior at the school. “Karissa’s face lit up when we showed her a test hand. She is a very deserving girl.”

The prosthetic works using movement in the elbow. When the arm is straightened, the fingers open. When bent, the fingers will close.

Mitchell can now grasp objects and shake hands, but the best part for her is the Frozen look.

“I like how Elsa has magic powers, and she’s different from everybody,” Mitchell said in a press conference. “It would be boring if everybody was like everybody.”

To learn more about similar projects, visit e-NABLING the Future.