Empowering clinicians with the skills and tools to deliver affordable prosthetic arms

Victoria Hand Project in Canada provides 3D-printed prosthetics to low-income amputees. Since 2015, it served 350 patients in 11 countries and trained 50+ healthcare workers globally.

Victoria Hand Project (VHP), based in Victoria, British Columbia, provides free prosthetic arms to amputees. VHP partners with clinics in low-income communities, offering training and tools to 3D print custom devices. Low material costs and clinic stipends ensure fast, customized devices. Since 2015, VHP has supported 16 clinics in 11 countries, served over 350 amputees, and trained more than 50 health-care professionals.

Problems Targeted

Prosthetic care is severely lacking in low-to-middle income countries and resource-limited communities.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

Victoria Hand Project (VHP) is a registered Canadian charity and a U.S. non-profit organization that utilizes fund-raising efforts to provide prosthetic arms at no cost to amputees in need. VHP’s engineering team develops prosthetic technologies and collaborates with clinicians in low-income communities. These clinicians are equipped with tools and training to create affordable, custom prosthetics using 3D printing and design technology, allowing them to assist more individuals efficiently. VHP offers ongoing support to its partners and compensates them for their services while covering patient costs. Partners may request a small fee from those who can afford it to cover the cost of the prosthetic materials, which ranges from $100 to $150, and for salary support of VHP’s in-country partners, which ranges from $300 to $500 per recipient. This approach leverages local health systems, enabling amputees to receive customized devices within days rather than months. After an initial research period and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of fittings has increased significantly, with 26 completed in 2022, 94 in 2023, and a projected 125 in 2024. (Egypt, Kenya, and Ukraine accounted for 84 per cent of the fittings in 2023.). By 2024, VHP worked with 16 clinics across 11 countries.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

Victoria Hand Project is funded by donations from organizations including Google, Grand Challenges Canada, and Choose Love, with public donations covering materials and clinic stipends. In 2024, VHP identified five potential new low-income partner communities and is developing a model for external clinics to order custom prosthetics from existing partners. (Zero Project Awardee 2025)

Pictures

By 2024, Victoria Hand Project has provided free prosthetic arms to amputees in eleven countries.

By 2024, Victoria Hand Project has provided free prosthetic arms to amputees in eleven countries.

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