Burmese war amputees get free 3D-printed prostheses, thanks to Thailand-based group

MAE SOT, Thailand — The morning he was shot in January 2024, rebel soldier Pan Pan, 31, was on his way to collect a meal pack from the administrative members of his resistance group, the White Tiger Battalion.  

It was 7 am, early and quiet — too early, the Burmese frontline soldier thought, to bother putting on his helmet as he walked along the Asian Highway in Kawkareik township, Myanmar.

That was when the bullet from a sniper, ricocheting off a nearby brick, tore through the rebel soldier’s right ear and came straight out his nose.  

He does not remember much after that. 

To save him, doctors removed a large part of his skull and brain on the right side, leaving him blind in one eye and with a deep, soft indent in his head. He became extremely vulnerable — any accidental impact could prove fatal. 

For the past year and a half, Mr Pan lived cautiously. He slept only on his left side, constantly protecting his head from harm. 

But now, a free custom 3D-printed skull cover, provided by non-profit organization Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), offers Mr Pan an added layer of protection. 

Beneath his unassuming black cap, the cover — fastened with Velcro — sits snugly atop his sunken skull. 

“Now, I don’t need to worry that I might fall down again,” he said.  

Myanmar’s conflict is creating more survivors like Mr Pan, who are wounded and in need of long-term, specialized medical support.  

Rising casualties  

Widespread resistance spread across the country after the military forcefully seized power in 2021, with civilians taking up arms to resist the regime’s brutal campaign. The military retaliated with airstrikes and mass arrests, silencing opposing voices with deadly force.

At least 6,000 civilians have been killed by Myanmar’s military in the past four years, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Thailand-based rights group founded by Burmese former political prisoners living in exile.

In 2023, the country recorded the world’s highest number of new annual casualties, with more than 1,000 deaths caused by antipersonnel landmines and explosive remnants of war, the Landmine Monitor Report 2024 found. 

Survivors face devastating long-term consequences: burns, amputation, and other life-altering injuries. The need for specialized care and prosthetics has soared.

Printing out hope in plastic  

To help satisfy this growing need for prostheses, BCMF is turning to unlikely solutions: plastic filaments and 3D printers. 

Founded in 2006 to help children along the Thai-Myanmar border access complex surgeries, BCMF later expanded its services to support other vulnerable groups. 

In 2019, founder Kanchana Thornton met a boy with a birth defect that disallowed him to walk on his own. He was too young to undergo the limb amputation needed to fit prosthetics. 

Determined to help, research led Mrs Thornton to a documentary about a man who 3D prints prosthetic limbs in his garage. 

Inspired, she contacted him, and he assured her 3D printing was easy —  requiring just a printer and free software to start.

With $10,000 AUD ($8,491 SGD) in seed funding from a donor, BCMF started its 3D printing lab with two printers.

It now has six machines and has produced free 3D-printed prostheses for 150 patients, some of whom have received multiple medical devices. 

In 2025, lead technician and former clinical nurse Aung Tin Tun helped produce 40 unique assistive devices for patients.  

These range from “simple” designs, which can be produced in four to six hours, like cosmetic hand prostheses, to functional limbs, which can comprise over 100 parts and take a full day to print.  

Most recently, Mr Tun produced an above-elbow arm prosthesis fitted with springs and silicone grip pads so patient Thar Ki, 28 can clutch the handlebar of his motorcycle.  

Three years ago, the former rebel soldier was testing handbombs when a grenade went off unexpectedly in his right hand.  

“After the accident, I felt like I couldn’t do anything anymore,” Mr Ki said.  

Now, with his 3D-printed arm, he can ride his motorcycle again.

At a typical hospital, Mr Ki would have had to fork out upwards of 40,000 baht ($1,605 SGD) for the prosthesis he received — a hefty price for migrants like him who are usually unemployed or paid under Thailand’s official minimum wage of 352 baht ($14.13 SGD). 

While the manufacturing cost of 3D printing a typical prosthetic arm averages around $100 USD ($129.36 SGD), BCMF covers the cost fully for migrants.

Mrs Thornton said that BCMF spends some $30,000 USD ($38,800 SGD) to keep the 3D printing lab operational every year.

Quality at no cost to patients 

Despite being free, the prostheses undergo rigorous testing before being handed to patients.  

Using open-source designs found online, Mr Tun’s team “remixes” and customizes  each part to a patient’s scanned measurements on a 3D printing software. 

Strings and springs are then tested for tension, to tailor the grip to natural hand movement. 

“If the design is not good, we won’t give it to the recipients,” said Mr Tun. 

While an artificial limb can be printed within 24 hours, the process is not always  smooth. Occasionally, printer nozzles jam, sudden power cuts halt production, and prototypes fail. Each error means wasted time, materials, and money. 

Still, he says it is worth it. 

“For me, it’s just a very small amount of contribution. But for the patients, it’s very  impactful in their daily lives,” he said. 

Learning on the job

Due to the niche nature of the work, most of the team at BCMF lack formal expertise in biomedical engineering or 3D printing. 

Mr Tun, for instance, had just three weeks of hands-on experience in a Thai hospital to learn about 3D printing. Traditional prosthetists typically train for years.

“Sometimes we’ll have an idea for a specific design but we cannot fully utilise the software,” he said. “I’m still learning every day.” 

To bridge this gap, BCMF brings in external experts and student interns from  Canada’s Queen’s University, who assist with software and production. 

The weight plastic limbs can’t bear 

Dr Trevor Binedell, principal prosthetist at Singapore’s Tan Tock Seng Hospital, said that despite its promise, 3D-printed devices are generally less robust and adjustable than traditional options. 

Materials used, like thermoplastic polyurethane — commonly used in the production of shoe soles and hoses — are not durable enough to bear human weight, leaving BCMF currently unable to make prosthetic legs. 

Patients with lower limb amputations have to find their footing at a traditional prosthetic production unit in the famous Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) instead.  

Located just a short walk apart within MTC’s compound, the two departments frequently collaborate to better serve patients. Occasionally, BCMF will 3D print prosthetic parts at the other’s request.

The traditional cast-and-mould methods take technicians up to five days to make a leg, but the casting process provides patients with better fit and control, Dr Binedell said.  

“While (3D printing) technology is promising, it still needs time to mature before it can consistently meet the demands of lower-limb applications,” he added. 

Room for improvement

Although free prostheses have helped patients become more confident in daily life, comfort and weight remain a challenge.  

Mr Pan jokes that if he wears his skull cover for too long, he might start leaning to one side. 

As for Mr Ki, he only uses his prosthetic arm when riding his motorcycle as he feels it is too heavy for daily wear — he estimates it weighs about a kilogram.  

“I can’t really complain because it’s free and I appreciate the help,” he said. “But if they make a lighter one, I might use it more often.” 

3D printing technology may not be perfect — but for survivors in Mae Sot like Mr Ki and Mr Pan, it makes all the difference. – Rappler.com