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From Rice University:

Rice students� robot arm a Dee-light for teen
It was a big day for Dee Faught when a team of Rice University students gave him a helping hand. In fact, they gave him a whole arm.

The bioengineering students won Rice�s George R. Brown School of Engineering Design Showcase and Competition last April for their R-ARM, a robotic device for Faught that fits his motorized chair. A video game controller allows Faught to manipulate the robotic arm. The students had the eager teen try a nearly finished version of the device Sept. 20 at Shriners Hospital for Children in Houston.

Faught, 17, lives with osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic condition that makes his bones especially brittle. The device will enable him to perform tasks most people take for granted.

�It will help him reach into the cabinets and get a cup or something he can�t get to from his chair by himself,� said his mom, Stacy Faught. �One of the things I�m excited about is that he�ll be able to pick up his laundry off the floor.�

�We�ve seen a lot of people tell him he�s not going to be able to do certain things,� said his dad, Keith. �Dee�s not one to say, �I can�t do it.� He�ll figure out a way.�.

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