A tortoise whose shell was damaged from burns has been saved thanks to a 3D-printed shell made by a group called Animal Avengers.
The tortoise, named Freddy, was found on a roadside in Brazil last year – it had been in a fire earlier that had damaged its shell up to 85%. The group of people who took Freddy in happened to be volunteers including veterinarians, a 3D designer, and a dental surgeon. When they realised they could use technology to save the lives of mutilated animals, they decided to make a customised prostheses for them. The group even has a name: Animal Avengers.
The Animal Avengers then endeavoured to start working on Freddy’s prosthesis. They began by comparing her pictures to those of a healthy tortoise. They then designed a customised prosthetic shell as per the measurements of Freddy using computer modelling. The dental surgeon of the group then made a four-piece shell by using a desktop 3D printer. This was made to fit Freddy, and it did.
The shell had to be surgically placed onto Freddy, after which it was hand-painted by an artist to make it look less of a prosthetic and more of an actual body part.
The Avengers have, thus, contributed to Freddy being able to move about fully again. The team has also helped many others, including a dog born with deformities in its legs. They have also made 3D-printed beaks for a parrot, a macaw, a goose, and a toucan.