FARMINGDALE, NY--(Marketwired - Jun 30, 2014) - Project Daniel, a humanitarian initiative to provide prosthetic limbs to children in the war-torn country of Sudan, has been awarded several Cannes Lions, including a Titanium Lion Award.
Project Daniel was spearheaded by Not Impossible Labs and sponsored by Precipart, a global supplier of precision custom mechanical components, gears and motion control assemblies.
Cannes Lions is the world's biggest celebration of creativity in communications, benchmarking innovation and changing the ways brands interact with customers. The awards champion the best work from the past year. Not Impossible was awarded:
- Cannes Titanium Lion for Project Daniel Sponsored by Precipart and Intel (from The Ebeling Group/Not Impossible Labs & Richard Van As/Robohand)
- Cannes Gold Lion in the Product Design category for Project Daniel, Sponsored by Precipart and Intel (from The Ebeling Group/Not Impossible Labs & Richard Van As/Robohand)
- Cannes Bronze Lion in the Branded Content and Entertainment category for Project Daniel, Sponsored by Precipart and Intel (from The Ebeling Group/Not Impossible Labs, Venables Bell & Partners, Richard Van As/Robohand)
- Shortlisting in the Innovation category for Project Daniel
As one of the world's leading engineering companies, Precipart regularly partners with the greatest innovators in medical technology. In the case of Project Daniel, Precipart, Not Impossible, Richard Van As (inventor of the Robohand), an Australian MIT neuroscientist and Dr. Tom Catena (an American doctor working in the Sudan) combined efforts to create a prosthetic device that can help with everyday living for some of the 50,000 amputees in southern Sudan.
"Precipart congratulates Not Impossible on their Cannes Lions awards and recognition for Project Daniel," said Edouard Laubscher, Chairman of Precipart Group. "We are honored to support this award-winning humanitarian project with financial and engineering support. Project Daniel aligns perfectly with Precipart's vision and mission to enhance people's lives through the use of innovative technology and engineering."
Project Daniel started when Not Impossible CEO Mick Ebeling read a TIME article about Daniel, a 16-year-old boy in Sudan who had his arms blown off by a bomb. Ebeling hoped he could find Daniel and fit him with 3D-printed prostheses that would vastly improve his quality of life. Precipart's involvement with Project Daniel began in late 2013, with significant contributions of time, ideas and funds.
The first steps were to 3D print and assemble a prototype arm that could be produced in the harsh conditions of Sudan's Nuba Mountains. Precipart lent its expertise to solve complex client issues through innovation and technology in order to develop a fully operational prosthetic arm.
"Designing and manufacturing innovative parts and solutions for our partners is the core of Precipart's mission every day," said John P. Walter, President and CEO of Precipart's Gears and Motion Control Systems business.
Trained by Van As for a real-world build and funded by Precipart, Ebeling and a small support team visited Daniel. During the trip, the team printed the first completed prosthetic arm for Daniel, which enabled him to feed himself for the first time in two years since losing both of his natural arms.
After the initial medical device was assembled and fitted, the team set up what is believed to be the world's first 3D-printing prosthetic laboratory and training facility. They taught local Sudanese trainees how to print and assemble additional prostheses. The trainees soon printed and fitted two more arms, giving hope that the project would be a long-term success.
Since the Project Daniel team returned to the United States, the trainees have continued working to enhance the lives of those around them. When conditions permit, they have been able to create an average of one prosthesis per week.
"Precipart is proud to partake in this meaningful endeavor," Laubscher said. "We recognize the importance of leveraging disruptive technologies such as 3D printing to deliver an advantage to our clients at the forefront of innovation. Further, Precipart is proud to apply its expertise to help advance humanitarian efforts."
About Precipart
Precipart (www.precipart.com) is a global company engaged in the engineering, design and manufacture of high precision mechanical components, assemblies, gears and motion control systems for the most recognized names in the Medical Technology, Aerospace and Industrial sectors. Precipart Group is headquartered in Lyss, Switzerland with a major manufacturing campus in Farmingdale, New York, offices in the United Kingdom and Bangalore, India, and a network of strategic alliances around the world.
About Not Impossible
Not Impossible (www.NotImpossibleNow.com) believes in technology for the sake of humanity. By crowd-sourcing to crowd-solve issues of inability and inaccessibility, Not Impossible takes an open-source mentality to providing low-cost and DIY solutions, enabling innovative tech devices to reach people in need all over the world. Not Impossible is disrupting the status quo by finding and telling compelling stories in which one person helped inspire many to action, creating a sustainable cycle where collaboration inspires innovation and content compels action. #HelpOneHelpMany
