A nine-year-old girl’s journey with a custom prosthetic arm — designed for just $50 — showcases the life-changing impact of biomechanics research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
by SAM PESHEK
UNO Director, Editorial & Media Relations
Every time 9-year-old Rue Gillespie swings a golf club or rides her bike, it’s thanks in part to researchers at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO).
Her prosthetic arm, designed in UNO’s Additive Manufacturing Laboratory in the Biomechanics Building, isn’t just a tool — it’s a lifeline to the activities she loves. Even more remarkable? It costs just $50 to produce, compared to a typical $8,000 to $12,000 price tag — an expense out of reach for many families.
Gillespie’s journey with UNO began when she was four years old. Born without a left hand, she met the biomechanics team when her family sought a prosthetic solution. Like most children during their first prosthetic limb fitting, she was hesitant. But after working with lab director Jorge Zuniga, Ph.D., and his team, she received her first custom 3D-printed prosthetic. Over the years, her prosthetic evolved alongside her, thanks to UNO’s continued research and innovation.
“Most of the materials we use are antimicrobial, recyclable polymers and they can be adjusted based on the child’s needs,” Zuniga explains.
As a child grows, their prosthetic can evolve with them, making it an accessible and sustainable option not just in Nebraska, but beyond.
But the lab’s impact isn’t limited to Gillespie. About 60 families across Nebraska have regular visits. Zuniga’s team can stay on the leading edge of prosthetic development because of relationships like these.
Understanding Body Language to Improve Prosthetic Care
UNO’s impact extends beyond affordability — it’s also pioneering new ways to improve how children use prosthetics.
Currently, prosthetic assessments rely mostly on indirect feedback from parents. It’s like assessing how well a shoe fits a child without asking them directly. Because of this, more than half of children with prosthetics ultimately choose not to use them.
Kaitlin Fraser, a UNO doctoral candidate and graduate assistant working in Zuniga’s lab, recently secured a grant from the Buffett Early Childhood Institute to research nonverbal cues in children with prosthetics. This research addresses a critical gap: understanding how children engage with their prosthetics when they can’t fully articulate their experiences.
“Receiving this grant has been an incredible milestone in my journey as a doctoral candidate,” Fraser said. “It’s inspiring to know that our work could profoundly impact the lives of children using prosthetics, giving them a way to communicate their needs to guide future prosthetic design and training.”
Research suggests that those who see their prosthetic as part of their body rather than an external tool are more likely to integrate it into daily life. By analyzing nonverbal cues, Fraser and the UNO team hope to unlock insights that lead to better prosthetic design, training and long-term adoption rates.
“Through this research, we are giving a voice to children who might not yet have the words to express their needs and experiences,” says Zuniga.
A Ripple Effect of Innovation
UNO’s research doesn’t just benefit the university, the city or the state of Nebraska. It leads to new findings that the entire country can benefit from.
Approximately 25,000 children in the U.S. live with limb differences, and UNO’s studies could lead to improved care not just in prosthetics, but for other medical conditions where verbal communication is limited. Insights from this research could inform better orthotic devices, physical therapy regimens and care strategies for nonverbal children with developmental disabilities.
The research team is actively recruiting participants with congenital limb reductions to further their study. Families interested in contributing can contact Fraser at [email protected].
A Model for University-Community Collaboration
What’s happening at UNO is more than academic research — it’s proof that a university and its community can work together for the greater good. By engaging local families, UNO ensures its findings have real-world applications beyond the lab.
For young participants like Gillespie, the impact is immediate. For the broader limb difference community, it represents a hopeful future. And for the field of biomechanics, UNO is setting a new standard for how research can and should be conducted: in direct partnership with those it aims to help.
With every study, every prosthetic created and every child empowered to live a more active life, UNO is proving that innovation isn’t just about technology — it’s about people. And in Omaha, that partnership between science and community is stronger than ever.
