{"id":3986,"date":"2018-04-26T17:06:41","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T17:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/?post_type=project&#038;p=3986"},"modified":"2018-04-26T17:09:45","modified_gmt":"2018-04-26T17:09:45","slug":"3dprosthetics","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/","title":{"rendered":"Midia Shikh Hassan: Printing affordable prosthetics to empower refugees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; specialty=&#8221;off&#8221; next_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title _builder_version=&#8221;3.2&#8243; date=&#8221;off&#8221; categories=&#8221;off&#8221; comments=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;off&#8221; \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; prev_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.2&#8243;]<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3785\" style=\"width: 716px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3785\" class=\"wp-image-3785\" src=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"706\" height=\"491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993.jpg 4517w, https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993-768x534.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993-1024x712.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993-1080x751.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-3785\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shikh stands in front of the 3D printers in the University of Ottawa Makerspace. \u2028<em>Photo by Manuela B\u00e1rcenas<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><br \/>\nMidia Shikh\u2019s family emigrated to Canada when she was 17. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Almost a decade later, the young Syrian has helped hundreds of newcomers by leading the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uottawa.ca\/gazette\/en\/news\/outreach-program-helps-syrian-refugees\"><span class=\"s2\">Refugee Outreach Programme<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">and is using her engineering knowledge to send accessible prosthetics to war amputees. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">As someone who was born and raised in the Middle East, Shikh felt the need to take action and help people affected by the Syrian conflict. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cDeep inside I know that if my family hadn\u2019t left Syria when I was young, it could have been me,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s the truth. I could have lost an arm, been killed or tortured. So that\u2019s a big driver to do what I do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thanks to her family\u2019s decision to move to Canada when she was younger, Shikh had the opportunity to get a health sciences degree in 2014 and a second degree in chemical engineering this year. Her passion to tackle social issues through entrepreneurship and her contributions to refugee healthcare led her to be one of the three Canadians who will travel to the UK to receive the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.queensyoungleaders.com\/#about\">Young Leaders Awards<\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">from Queen Elizabeth later this month.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">She says she was inspired to make a change in the life of refugees after taking an entrepreneurship class in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cI met up with some classmates and we talked about how we could use our engineering skills to find a way to help refugees,\u201d she said. \u201cAt that time, prosthetics were a big topic in 3D printing so we started looking into them and what we could do.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">This is how Shikh and her co-founders Malik Jumani, Ahmad Al-Abdulmohsen, Olivier Miguel, Roxanne Gauthier-Ferland, and Antoine Machaalani decided to launch Dextra, a social enterprise that sends 3D printed prosthetics to war-amputees and refugees in regions of Africa and the Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Since March 2016, Dextra has been working at the Makerspace in the University of Ottawa to print and assemble plastic prosthetic hands. The project has been made possible thanks to government grants, scholarships and the goodwill of its creators- who volunteer their time and skills.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cPeople look at me and say I could find a job and make more money, but this is not the world I want to be a part of,\u201d said Shikh. \u201cI could find a job, get paid a lot more, but I\u2019m crafting the world I want to live in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3784\" style=\"width: 714px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3784\" class=\"wp-image-3784\" src=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4983.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"704\" height=\"469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4983.jpg 5184w, https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4983-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4983-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4983-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4983-1080x720.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-3784\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shikh shows a 3D printed prosthetic after the plastic parts have been assembled.\u2028 <em>Photo by Manuela B\u00e1rcenas<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><b><br \/>\nWhen lack of accessibility leads to innovation<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/apps.who.int\/iris\/bitstream\/handle\/10665\/43127\/9241592672.pdf;jsessionid=EE20ED9441261CD023F6AE8919B8F3F9?sequence=1\"><span class=\"s2\">World Health Organization<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">estimated that 80 per cent of the individuals who needed a prosthetic device in 2004 lived in developing countries and were not able to afford any type of high-tech prosthetic. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">One of these countries was Lebanon, a place where 600,000 refugees had an upper limb amputation in 2016, according to Shikh. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cWe started with Syrian refugees because they were the ones who needed this solution immediately,\u201d she said. \u201cLots of refugees were moving to Lebanon, and the ones who were moving to Lebanon were usually the ones who had lost a limb or a body part because it is the closest country to Syria.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">By using 3D printers in the production process, Dextra was able to produce prosthetic hands for $20, instead of the usual cost of $2,000 to $20,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">In order to get the prosthetics to the hands of refugees, the Dextra team works with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In most cases, Shikh and her team send the designs to Lebanon, where they are modified and delivered by ICRC workers and partner NGOs.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 1080px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-3986-1\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/3DPRINTING.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/3DPRINTING.mp4\">https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/3DPRINTING.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Shikh explains how 3D printed parts can be assembled and work together to build different objects<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Simple actions with an empowering effect<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">One of the disadvantages of 3D printed prosthetics is that they are more fragile than high-technology prostheses. According to Ed Lemaire, senior investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and president of the<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.irrd.ca\/lemaire.asp\"><span class=\"s2\">International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (Canada)<\/span><\/a>, <span style=\"color: #000000;\">plastic prosthetics can easily break when they\u2019re used for actions that require a lot of strength.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cYou can\u2019t work at a farm, they wouldn&#8217;t stand up to someone who had to do manual labour,\u201d said Lemaire. \u201cA child wouldn&#8217;t be able to play in the jungle gym or hold something with a lot of force because they are not built for that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">However, Shikh argues that with the help of a mechanically-activated hand, refugees who wouldn\u2019t have access to a prothesis could perform actions such as holding a phone, a spoon or a cup. She thinks the ability to perform simple actions like these can help with self-esteem and really make a difference in someone&#8217;s life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>A challenging work that brings meaningful rewards<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">According to Shikh, working with people located in a different continent has been one of the biggest challenges in her journey with Dextra. She recounts her experience with an NGO in Morocco as an example of this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cSomeone approached us about the story of a child who\u2019s family could not afford a normal prosthetic, but they knew that 3D printing was a lot cheaper and asked us if we were interested to help,\u201d said Shikh. \u201cThe person from the NGO was coming to Canada for two weeks and was hoping to take the prosthetic back to Morocco with him, so we had two weeks notice to build it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Shikh tried to collaborate with the people in Morocco by sending them specific measurements and instructional videos of how to take them, so that the team in Canada could build the prothesis.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cI would send him stuff, he would sent it to someone who lives in the village and then that person would go and take the measurements. It was a very challenging process,\u201d said Shikh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Malik Jumani, one of Dextra\u2019s co-founders, says Shikh\u2019s ability to empathize and communicate with other people has been essential for the success of the project.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cMidia put a lot of emphasis on the mental impact of the physical disability and on staying connected with the family of the kid who is in Morocco. I really liked the way she connected everyone together in this project.\u201d said Jumani<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Unfortunately, when the prosthetic hand was sent to Morocco, the measurements were not entirely right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cThe boy was happy to try it on but it didn\u2019t fit perfectly,\u201d said Shikh. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">But Shikh hasn\u2019t given up. This summer, she will travel to Morocco to meet the boy who\u2019s prosthetic hand did not fit the first time. She will be taking the measurements herself and establishing partnerships to mobilize the Dextra project to the African country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cI\u2019m probably going to cry when I see him,\u201d said Shikh. \u201cI think it will be a wake up call to me and to other people involved in the project because not everyone is as fortunate as us, and this is why it\u2019s always good to give back to others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; specialty=&#8221;off&#8221; next_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title _builder_version=&#8221;3.2&#8243; date=&#8221;off&#8221; categories=&#8221;off&#8221; comments=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;off&#8221; \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; prev_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.2&#8243;] Midia Shikh\u2019s family emigrated to Canada when she was 17. Almost a decade later, the young Syrian has helped hundreds of newcomers by leading the Refugee Outreach Programme and is using her engineering knowledge to send accessible prosthetics to war [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":3785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"[caption id=\"attachment_3785\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"706\"]<img class=\"wp-image-3785\" src=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"706\" height=\"491\" \/> Shikh stands in front of the 3D printers in the University of Ottawa Makerspace. \u2028<em>Photo by Manuela B\u00e1rcenas<\/em>[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\r\nMidia Shikh\u2019s family emigrated to Canada when she was 17. <\/span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"s1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Almost a decade later, the young Syrian has helped hundreds of newcomers by leading the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uottawa.ca\/gazette\/en\/news\/outreach-program-helps-syrian-refugees\"><span class=\"s2\">Refugee Outreach Programme<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">and is using her engineering knowledge to send accessible prosthetics to war amputees. <\/span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">As someone who was born and raised in the Middle East, Shikh felt the need to take action and help people affected by the Syrian conflict. <\/span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cDeep inside I know that if my family hadn\u2019t left Syria when I was young, it could have been me,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s the truth. I could have lost an arm, been killed or tortured. So that\u2019s a big driver to do what I do.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"s1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thanks to her family\u2019s decision to move to Canada when she was younger, Shikh had the opportunity to get a health sciences degree in 2014 and a second degree in chemical engineering this year. Her passion to tackle social issues through entrepreneurship and her contributions to refugee healthcare led her to be one of the three Canadians who will travel to the UK to receive the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.queensyoungleaders.com\/#about\">Young Leaders Awards<\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">from Queen Elizabeth later this month.<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">She says she was inspired to make a change in the life of refugees after taking an entrepreneurship class in 2016.<\/span>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cI met up with some classmates and we talked about how we could use our engineering skills to find a way to help refugees,\u201d she said. \u201cAt that time, prosthetics were a big topic in 3D printing so we started looking into them and what we could do.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">This is how Shikh and her co-founders Malik Jumani, Ahmad Al-Abdulmohsen, Olivier Miguel, Roxanne Gauthier-Ferland, and Antoine Machaalani decided to launch Dextra, a social enterprise that sends 3D printed prosthetics to war-amputees and refugees in regions of Africa and the Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Since March 2016, Dextra has been working at the Makerspace in the University of Ottawa to print and assemble plastic prosthetic hands. The project has been made possible thanks to government grants, scholarships and the goodwill of its creators- who volunteer their time and skills.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cPeople look at me and say I could find a job and make more money, but this is not the world I want to be a part of,\u201d said Shikh. \u201cI could find a job, get paid a lot more, but I\u2019m crafting the world I want to live in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_3784\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"704\"]<img class=\"wp-image-3784\" src=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4983.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"704\" height=\"469\" \/> Shikh shows a 3D printed prosthetic after the plastic parts have been assembled.\u2028 <em>Photo by Manuela B\u00e1rcenas<\/em>[\/caption]\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>\r\nWhen lack of accessibility leads to innovation<\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/apps.who.int\/iris\/bitstream\/handle\/10665\/43127\/9241592672.pdf;jsessionid=EE20ED9441261CD023F6AE8919B8F3F9?sequence=1\"><span class=\"s2\">World Health Organization<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">estimated that 80 per cent of the individuals who needed a prosthetic device in 2004 lived in developing countries and were not able to afford any type of high-tech prosthetic. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">One of these countries was Lebanon, a place where 600,000 refugees had an upper limb amputation in 2016, according to Shikh. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cWe started with Syrian refugees because they were the ones who needed this solution immediately,\u201d she said. \u201cLots of refugees were moving to Lebanon, and the ones who were moving to Lebanon were usually the ones who had lost a limb or a body part because it is the closest country to Syria.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">By using 3D printers in the production process, Dextra was able to produce prosthetic hands for $20, instead of the usual cost of $2,000 to $20,000.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">In order to get the prosthetics to the hands of refugees, the Dextra team works with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In most cases, Shikh and her team send the designs to Lebanon, where they are modified and delivered by ICRC workers and partner NGOs.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[video width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" mp4=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/3DPRINTING.mp4\"][\/video]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Shikh explains how 3D printed parts can be assembled and work together to build different objects<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Simple actions with an empowering effect<\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">One of the disadvantages of 3D printed prosthetics is that they are more fragile than high-technology prostheses. According to Ed Lemaire, senior investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and president of the<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.irrd.ca\/lemaire.asp\"><span class=\"s2\">International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (Canada)<\/span><\/a>, <span style=\"color: #000000;\">plastic prosthetics can easily break when they\u2019re used for actions that require a lot of strength.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cYou can\u2019t work at a farm, they wouldn't stand up to someone who had to do manual labour,\u201d said Lemaire. \u201cA child wouldn't be able to play in the jungle gym or hold something with a lot of force because they are not built for that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">However, Shikh argues that with the help of a mechanically-activated hand, refugees who wouldn\u2019t have access to a prothesis could perform actions such as holding a phone, a spoon or a cup. She thinks the ability to perform simple actions like these can help with self-esteem and really make a difference in someone's life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>A challenging work that brings meaningful rewards<\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">According to Shikh, working with people located in a different continent has been one of the biggest challenges in her journey with Dextra. She recounts her experience with an NGO in Morocco as an example of this.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cSomeone approached us about the story of a child who\u2019s family could not afford a normal prosthetic, but they knew that 3D printing was a lot cheaper and asked us if we were interested to help,\u201d said Shikh. \u201cThe person from the NGO was coming to Canada for two weeks and was hoping to take the prosthetic back to Morocco with him, so we had two weeks notice to build it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Shikh tried to collaborate with the people in Morocco by sending them specific measurements and instructional videos of how to take them, so that the team in Canada could build the prothesis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cI would send him stuff, he would sent it to someone who lives in the village and then that person would go and take the measurements. It was a very challenging process,\u201d said Shikh.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Malik Jumani, one of Dextra\u2019s co-founders, says Shikh\u2019s ability to empathize and communicate with other people has been essential for the success of the project.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cMidia put a lot of emphasis on the mental impact of the physical disability and on staying connected with the family of the kid who is in Morocco. I really liked the way she connected everyone together in this project.\u201d said Jumani<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Unfortunately, when the prosthetic hand was sent to Morocco, the measurements were not entirely right.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cThe boy was happy to try it on but it didn\u2019t fit perfectly,\u201d said Shikh. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">But Shikh hasn\u2019t given up. This summer, she will travel to Morocco to meet the boy who\u2019s prosthetic hand did not fit the first time. She will be taking the measurements herself and establishing partnerships to mobilize the Dextra project to the African country.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cI\u2019m probably going to cry when I see him,\u201d said Shikh. \u201cI think it will be a wake up call to me and to other people involved in the project because not everyone is as fortunate as us, and this is why it\u2019s always good to give back to others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"project_category":[134],"project_tag":[],"class_list":["post-3986","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project_category-profile"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Midia Shikh Hassan: Printing affordable prosthetics to empower refugees - Catalyst<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Midia Shikh Hassan: Printing affordable prosthetics to empower refugees - Catalyst\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; specialty=&#8221;off&#8221; next_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title _builder_version=&#8221;3.2&#8243; date=&#8221;off&#8221; categories=&#8221;off&#8221; comments=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;off&#8221; \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; prev_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.2&#8243;] Midia Shikh\u2019s family emigrated to Canada when she was 17. Almost a decade later, the young Syrian has helped hundreds of newcomers by leading the Refugee Outreach Programme and is using her engineering knowledge to send accessible prosthetics to war [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catalyst\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-04-26T17:09:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993-1024x712.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"712\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/\",\"name\":\"Catalyst\",\"description\":\"A publication of Carleton University&#039;s School of Journalism and Communication\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993.jpg\",\"width\":4517,\"height\":3139},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/\",\"name\":\"Midia Shikh Hassan: Printing affordable prosthetics to empower refugees - Catalyst\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-26T17:06:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-04-26T17:09:45+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Projects\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Midia Shikh Hassan: Printing affordable prosthetics to empower refugees\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Midia Shikh Hassan: Printing affordable prosthetics to empower refugees - Catalyst","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Midia Shikh Hassan: Printing affordable prosthetics to empower refugees - Catalyst","og_description":"[et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; specialty=&#8221;off&#8221; next_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title _builder_version=&#8221;3.2&#8243; date=&#8221;off&#8221; categories=&#8221;off&#8221; comments=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;off&#8221; \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; prev_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.2&#8243;] Midia Shikh\u2019s family emigrated to Canada when she was 17. Almost a decade later, the young Syrian has helped hundreds of newcomers by leading the Refugee Outreach Programme and is using her engineering knowledge to send accessible prosthetics to war [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/","og_site_name":"Catalyst","article_modified_time":"2018-04-26T17:09:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":712,"url":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993-1024x712.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/","name":"Catalyst","description":"A publication of Carleton University&#039;s School of Journalism and Communication","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_4993.jpg","width":4517,"height":3139},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/","name":"Midia Shikh Hassan: Printing affordable prosthetics to empower refugees - Catalyst","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2018-04-26T17:06:41+00:00","dateModified":"2018-04-26T17:09:45+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/3dprosthetics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Projects","item":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/project\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Midia Shikh Hassan: Printing affordable prosthetics to empower refugees"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/3986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/project"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3986"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/3986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4185,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/3986\/revisions\/4185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"project_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_category?post=3986"},{"taxonomy":"project_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_tag?post=3986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}