- March 6, 2025
Emily Morris, Katelyn Mumma, Chad Mohrbacher with their teacher Courtney Vandebunte. This group designed a figure-8 prosthetic to provide Champ with maximum stability when walking on sidewalks and roads.
The class broke into small teams, and each came up with a prosthetic leg design that will be tried by Champ.
Raphael Santiago and Kyle Goyzueta have developed a tank with treads prosthetic. "We came up with the idea based on the movie "Fury." Santiago said.
Brianna Bunting and Andrew Bigler are refining the figure-J prosthetic, that was designed to help champ run. The groups idea came from watching the movie "Bladerunner."
Kristina Santiago and Tianna Tucci have designed a C-curved prosthetic that should provide a support for Champ.
Brett Shiflett, Austin McLeer and Ethan Areizaga have printed multiple trials in order to perfect their prosthetic leg scooter wheel design.
Neko Fileca and Mason Jackson show off their design that is still in its trial stages, and will soon to be printed.
Ashleigh Young, Hazel Gonzalez and Genesis Guzman-Davila came up with a deign that acts like a pulley system. When the dog steps forward with its good leg, the prosthetic will go in the opposite direction, therefore providing the canine leverage.
Each 3D printed piece takes on average 20 hours to print, depending on the density, size and thickness of the object.
Throughout recent history many inventions have spawned from science fiction movies and novels. Legend has it that the inspiration for the cell phone came from the fictitious television show Star Trek. “Motorola’s director of research and development, Martin Cooper, designed the first mobile phone, released in the ‘70s, similar to that of the phones on ‘Star Trek,’” quoted from toptenz.net.
“The figure J prosthetic was designed based off the movie “Blade Runner.” The curved surface will act as a spring system and will help Champ be more agile.”
ANDREW BIGLER, a junior at FPC
Flagler Palm Coast High School students taking Courtney Vandebunte’s Anatomy of Design class are deriving innovative ideas to create a working prosthetic leg from high-action movies such as “Blade Runner” and “Fury.”
The class recently acquired three 3D Printers through grants, and Mrs. Vandebunte has found a way for her students to utilize the printers while making a significant impact on one dog’s life.
After calling around to every humane society in the state, Vandebunte was put in contact with a family from Green Cove Springs. The owners Yaso and Dave Sandoval adopted a 3-year-old German Shepherd mixed dog named Champ, after it was tragically struck by a vehicle. The car strike resulted in the loss of the dog’s entire front left leg.
The class split into groups of three or four to brainstorm on various prosthetics that could be printed right there in the classroom. In order to make the prosthetics as accurate as possible, the class held an Ask an Expert Day in order to meet Champ and his owners, as well as a physical therapist, veterinarian and three different 3D Printing experts. Champs measurements were taken, and designs were discussed.
One group came up with an idea to make a custom fit harness, that will be hand sewn, then attach to a 3D Printed shoulder piece. In order to maximize their efforts, four of the classes separate groups joined to make one “super-group.” Each of the super-groups prosthetic will be designed to screw onto the shoulder piece making it possible to easily switch out the different prosthetics.
“The figure J prosthetic was designed based off the movie “Blade Runner,” said Andrew Bigler, a junior at FPC. “The curved surface will act as a spring system and will help Champ be more agile. We are hoping to print the final rendition out of Ninja Flex material, so the prosthetic will not have as harsh of an impact when he is running.”
Another group got inspiration from an article they read on a different dog named Derby. Derby was given a prosthetic that literally looked like the figure 8. The students took the idea and altered the finished product by attaching it to the shoulder harness with an embedded spring. The design is meant to help Champ walk freely down sidewalks and roadways.
The student’s final renditions will be completed by the end of March. Champ is scheduled to come visit the students and try on all of the different prosthetics in search of the perfect fit. The Sandoval’s will choose one of the designs to take back home.
