Prosthetics Violinist--Thanks to Courage and Capitalism

From the Washington Post: A 10-year-old Virginia girl without a hand wanted to play violin. Now she can:

Dressed for the occasion in a red dress and a headband with a white, glittery flower, 10-year-old Isabella Nicola picked up her violin.

But this was no recital. And Isabella is no ordinary violin player. The fifth grader from Alexandria, Va., was born without a left hand and part of her forearm.

That hasn’t stopped her. Her mother, Andrea Cabrera, always instructed her not to say “I can’t,” but to say “I can’t yet.”

Now, thanks to five George Mason University bioengineering seniors — Yasser Alhindi, Mona Elkholy, Abdelrahman Gouda, Ella Novoselsky and Racha Salha — who used 3-D printing technology to create a prosthetic bow arm for her, she’s begun training on an instrument that challenges even the most adroit musicians.

They call it the VioArm.

Kudos to Isabella for her determination and courage. And Kudos to the scientists, engineers, businessmen, and investors of the hi tech industry for giving these entrepreneuring George Mason University students the tools to turn their idea for the VioArm into reality. Determination, courage, reason, and capitalism is an unstoppable combination.

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