A team of engineering students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has developed a hydrodynamic biomimetic prosthetic fin using 3D printing that may help save injured, and endangered, Kemp’s ridley sea turtles.

Their work focused on Lola, a turtle at the Key West Aquarium whose right flipper had to be amputated after it became entangled in fishing gear. In developing the prosthetic fin, students Lok Wong, Samantha Varela and Vivian Liang considered various shapes, fabricating several using silicone and a 3D printer and testing them in a wind tunnel.After being fitted with the new fin, Lola adapted almost immediately, swimming swiftly and smoothly. Image credit: WPI.Ultimately, they settled on a design that imitated Lola’s healthy limb. Wong, a mechanical engineering major and aerospace engineering minor, worked on the hydrodynamics of the flipper; Varela, a biomedical engineering major, designed a way to attach the prosthetic; and Liang, a double major in biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, ensured that the design and attachment of the flipper would allow Lola to generate enough force to swim.

“Flipper damage is the most common injury in sea turtles and, unfortunately, we see it all the time,” says Douglas Mader, a veterinarian at the aquarium. “But with the technology the WPI students developed, this new flipper design will allow this sea turtle and other injured turtles to be rehabilitated and live a more normal life. That’s important for the species, especially when the injured turtle is of breeding age.”

The students claim their prosthetic design is the first ever hydrodynamic biomimetic prosthetic fin created by 3D printing, custom made to fit Lola and mimic the way her healthy flipper moves. Greg Gerwin, curator at the aquarium, notes that after being fitted with the device, Lola adapted to the flipper almost immediately, swimming swiftly and smoothly.

“With her flipper missing, Lola would only swim in circles, which caused her a lot of discomfort during feeding. Now, with her prosthetic, we have hope for [her],” he says.