There are many ways in which life is affected by modern technology. A long distance phone call used to be a major expense for many households. It used to take days just to get to a destination on the other side of the world. When the person arrived safely, it might take weeks to notify their family through mail services. All of these situations have changed with modern technology. Cell phones work almost everywhere in the world and calling other countries will no longer overwhelm a household budget. Safety and availability of modern air travel has made the world a smaller place. Calling home from a distant location can be done with voice or text. Keeping in touch is easy enough through email and social platforms.
All of these changes in the modern world are nice, but one area where modern technology has excelled is for people with disabilities. Those that have lost limbs now have many options. Best of all, three dimensional printers have brought the cost of replacement limbs within the budgets of many. No longer will people have to wait months or years to have a limb replaced at an exorbitant cost.
Many engineering schools have allowed their students to begin learning how to design, manufacture and distribute prosthetics to those in need. The new printers can now spend a few hours or a day manufacturing a limb that might have taken months with older technology.
Time is not the only area where modern technology has helped people that need prosthetics. Cost has always been an issue. It used to take a fully trained craftsman to create a useful prosthetic. This person might labor for weeks to ensure a good quality limb, and their time and materials had to be compensated. It drove the cost too high for many. Modern plastic and computer technologies are beginning to alleviate these costs.
