OU Engineering Students Give 12-Year-Old Prosthetic Hand

A group of budding biomedical engineer students at the University of Oklahoma are helping a 12-year-old Oklahoma City boy who was born with a deformed left hand. 

Austin Shumsky has a condition known as “Poland’s Syndrome.”  His left hand is very small, and the fingers he was born with are fused together.  Even though he has been through five surgeries, Shmusky maintains an outstanding outlook on life.

Last Summer, his mother Jennifer Shumsky contacted the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering at OU about helping her son.  Emily May is one of the student volunteers that designed a special prosthetic hand for Austin.

“Basically there are some files that were already online that people have made that are templates, and we were able to bring Austin in,” said May. “We took some measurements on him and saw what problems he was having, specifically with his hand, and modified it to fit his needs.”

Shumsky says he’s very thankful for the help.

“It gives me more help, but I’m still going to do anything I can to have a happy future,” said Shumsky.