Robert Graboyes : 3-D printers are opening up possibilities for low - cost prosthetics . FDA - approved prosthetic ##s , for example , would cost $ 40,000 . Several years ago , a South African carpenter lost some fingers in an accident and collaborated with a Washington state puppetmaker to invent a vastly more affordable device . Printed ones , about $ 50 . He calls ` ` permissionless innovation '' lets design of 3-D printer products quickly evolve . Others : Such unleashed innovation should be applied across all of health care .
Robert Graboyes : 3-D printers are opening up possibilities for low - cost prosthetics . FDA - approved prosthetic ##s , for example , would cost $ 40,000 . Printed ones , about $ 50 . He calls ` ` permissionless innovation '' lets design of 3-D printer products quickly evolve . Others : Such unleashed innovation should be applied across all of health care .