Ozzie the goose gets a 3D-printed leg (pictures)

Ozzie, a goose from South Africa, is back on his feet thanks to a 3D-printed leg and foot designed just for him.

Ozzie spent a month hanging in a hammock after having his broken leg amputated. A group of 3D-printing professionals helped to kit him out with a new plastic leg.

Ozzie the goose and his human friend Sue Burger went to the BunnyCorp office in South Africa to have the feathered fellow's stump measured and photographed. BunnyCorp, a South African digital design firm, volunteered to design a new leg and foot for the disabled waterfowl.

Designers at BunnyCorp created drawings during the process of building a new leg for Ozzie the goose. These concepts play off the natural mechanics of a goose's leg. The designers measured Ozzie in person to ensure a good fit.

Ozzie the goose received a new 3D-printed leg thanks to the work of several volunteer sponsors. Design firm BunnyCorp created this concept for a leg prosthesis. It was then printed out and fitted to Ozzie so he could walk again.

BunnyCorp, a South African digital design firm, has experience working with human prostheses and used that knowledge to help create the goose leg and foot design. This test prosthesis is a starting point and changes may be made once Ozzie the goose wears the beta model for a while.

This test print of a new leg for amputee goose Ozzie was created with a 3D printer. The lightweight prosthetic limb is designed to fit on Ozzie's stump and replicate the movement of a regular leg.

This prosthetic leg and foot designed for a disabled goose bends in the same locations as a real goose leg. Ozzie the goose, whose broken leg had to be amputated, is the recipient of the 3D-printed leg, which is helping him to walk again.

BunnyCorp, which designed this goose prosthesis, reports that Ozzie was initially confused about his new leg, but is adapting and learning to walk with the 3D-printed appendage.