North Carolina high school students to build prosthetic hand for boy

DURHAM -- A 12-year-old Raleigh boy in need of a prosthetic hand visited the science class at a Durham high school Monday that's going to create it for him free of charge.

With help of students at City of Medicine Academy, and a 3D printer, Matthew DiFrancesco -- who was born without a fully developed right hand -- will get a limb that will allow him to grip and, DiFrancesco says, will look cool at the same time.

"When I found out what they were going to do here, I just thought this was going to be really amazing that I can finally do more with my right hand," he said. "I'm looking forward to jump rope, being more active with it and playing more sports."

DiFrancesco was matched up with the high school science class through an organization that provides models of hands that can be recreated with a 3D printer.

The printer will basically use a pattern and squirt the hot plastic into different parts, then those will be put together for the hand.

DiFrancesco's parents say they're just as excited about the manufactured hand. They said they were told when DiFrancesco was born he would have two options, either use his foot and toes as a hand, or have an amputation and get a robotic prosthetic.

DiFrancesco should be getting his hand in a few days.