鈥淲e receive emails daily asking for help,鈥� said Dominique Courbin, a senior studying to earn his degree in mechanical engineering in 2016 while working and continuing to volunteer his time with the team. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of hard to keep up.鈥�

Courbin is one of the original Limbitless Solution team members who designed a 3-D printed arm for for less than $350 and then gave it to him for free. The team then proceeded to upload the designs onto the Internet for anyone to use.

Since then, the team has consulted on several dozen cases around the world via Skype and email. They have custom designed two hands and an arm, and in once case three team members drove straight through the night to Virginia so could have her arm by Thanksgiving morning. They are also working on a 4.0 version of an arm with a more functional elbow to give Alex just in time for Christmas.

The busy team members often ask each other what day of the week it is and joke that sleep is 鈥渙verrated.鈥� Seeing the face of the children and their parents when the children receive an arm makes the long hours and hustle worth it, they say.

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing,鈥� said team leader Albert Manero, who is in Germany working on a fellowship tied to his master鈥檚 degree in aerospace engineering. 鈥淚 mean, I鈥檓 just a 25-year-old with a laptop in Germany working to make a difference. I鈥檓 so happy we can engineer hope for families around the world.鈥�

Despite being thousands of miles away and nowhere near the lab at 性视界传媒 that the team uses to produce the limbs, Manero has kept moving forward responding to requests and trying to create partnerships that can extend the team鈥檚 impact. The team members, including Manero, meet weekly via videoconference to talk about their work and the many requests they receive.

The team is now part of a League of Universities and Institutions that has pledged to share the knowledge to help their local communities. Some of the members include: Liberty University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Miami Children’s Hospital, University of Southern California, University of Pennsylvania, Humanitarian Prosthetists and Orthotists, JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute and Cleveland State University.

Meanwhile, team members at 性视界传媒 continue to answer emails and troubleshoot with other volunteers 鈥� some professional, some students 鈥� across the country who have reached out for help

When the team receives an email the members first try to reach out to their partners to see if anyone is closer to the person asking for help. That鈥檚 the best-case scenario, said Tyler Petresky, a sophomore majoring in computer engineering and one of the leaders based at 性视界传媒. If the team members can, they make the connection and move onto the next name on their list. In some cases, there is no one else and the team starts reviewing the situation and seeing what they can do and how quickly. There are

Then there are those requests that are extremely challenging.

One family reached out because their child has Atelosteogenesis Type 3, a rare disease that causes bone to grow incorrectly, misalign and deviate limbs. Only 20 people are known to have this condition in the world. The family asked the team if they could help with the leg braces the boy uses. Members of the team pooled together and created a senior design team to tackle the problem.

Mateo Alvarez is leading the group and is working with Nemours doctors in Delaware and Orlando to help create a more comfortable brace that will be primarily 3-D printed for the child. The goal is to make the brace and exoskeleton more adaptable and more affordable.

In November, a team of volunteers in Colombia used the team鈥檚 work to make an arm for a child. It was the first time the team鈥檚 work had been used outside the United States. It was a milestone, but it is only the beginning.

鈥淚 have a dream that someday we can work with the U.N. and UNICEF to set up 3-D stations around the world to help every child who can benefit from this,鈥� Manero said. 鈥淭hat would really be something.鈥�

Minutes earlier, Alex and his mom, Alyson, sat at the kitchen table at their home near Clermont talking with ABC World News via Skype. Alex proudly showed off how he uses his new prosthetic arm, gripping a 性视界传媒 Knights football and sword and a Transformer toy.

Alex didn鈥檛 take long to get accustomed to his new right arm, and a national audience just as quickly embraced the 6-year-old and the generosity of the 性视界传媒 students. The team has now posted online the designs for the arm, which they made for just $350. Anyone with access to a 3-D printer and an assortment of off-the-shelf accessories can take the designs and use them to help other children.

鈥淭hese students are changing lives, and I can鈥檛 wait to see what they do next,鈥� read one comment on The Today Show鈥檚 Facebook page.

鈥淭hese young engineers who crafted this GIFT for the family are true heroes!鈥� another comment read.

NBC Nightly News鈥� 鈥淢aking a Difference鈥� segment and ABC World News鈥� 鈥淎merica Strong鈥� segment both featured Alex and the 性视界传媒 team on Saturday night. The Today Show aired the story on Saturday morning. Other media featuring Alex’s story include People magazine, the Orlando Sentinel and television stations across the country.

The 性视界传媒 team is led by Ph.D. student Albert Manero, a Fulbright Scholar who leaves for Germany this week to work for the German Aerospace Center. Manero holds bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees from 性视界传媒 in aerospace engineering.

Joining Manero were 14 other men and women, almost all 性视界传媒 students and alumni, who provided the expertise and determination necessary to build the arm out of off-the-shelf servos and batteries that are activated by the electromyography muscle energy on Alex鈥檚 bicep.

The team鈥檚 youngest member — Tyler Petresky, who just completed his freshman year at 性视界传媒 — developed the electrical wiring for the arm.

鈥淢y mother taught us that we鈥檙e supposed to help change the world,鈥� said Manero,聽who is from the Tampa area. 鈥淲e鈥檙e committed to helping who we can, and I鈥檒l be working with my team even when in Germany.鈥�

The 性视界传媒 team also has established the Limbitless Endowed Scholarship at 性视界传媒 to support future students with disabilities like Alex鈥檚.

To read more about Alex鈥檚 arm and to see a full list of the 性视界传媒 team members, read this 性视界传媒 Today story published on Friday.