
Biography
Olivia is a MSc student in the School of Computing under the supervision of Dr. Gabor Fichtinger and Dr. Parvin Mousavi. Her research involves cancer detection through micro-ultrasound and the iKnife in breast-conserving surgery
Publications
Elkind, Emese; Tun, Aung Tin; Radcliffe, Olivia; Connolly, Laura; Davison, Colleen; Purkey, Eva; Mousavi, Parvin; Fichtinger, Gabor; Thornton, Kanchana
INOVAIT Image-Guided Therapy (IGT) x Imaging Network Ontario (ImNO), 2025.
@conference{Elkind2025b,
title = {Developing low-cost 3D-printed prosthetics with a functional wrist for patients along the Thai-Myanmar border},
author = {Emese Elkind and Aung Tin Tun and Olivia Radcliffe and Laura Connolly and Colleen Davison and Eva Purkey and Parvin Mousavi and Gabor Fichtinger and Kanchana Thornton
},
url = {undefined},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-03-05},
urldate = {2025-03-05},
publisher = {INOVAIT Image-Guided Therapy (IGT) x Imaging Network Ontario (ImNO)},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Inadequacies in the Burmese healthcare system, heightened by the 2021 military coup and related civil war in Myanmar and the COVID-19 pandemic, have contributed to an influx of refugees to Thailand to seek medical aid. An estimated 1.5 million Myanmar nationals entered Thailand since January 2023 [5]. Without immigration status, these refugees are unable to receive healthcare. Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF) is a nonprofit based in Mae Sot, Tak, Thailand that focuses on funding underserved Burmese communities’ medical treatment and providing support services, including accessible prosthetics for refugees who have experienced limb loss [1]. Prosthetics in lower-income countries are usually passive, meaning they lack mechanisms to restore critical limb functions such as gripping, rotation, or complex hand movements. Therefore, patients cannot fully perform their daily functions, impacting their abilities to work and affecting family caretakers. BCMF aims to make prosthetics that work best in low-resource settings using open-source designs, which only allow for fixed hand positions. The usage of prosthetic arms depends heavily on their functionality and comfort. Patients are more likely to consistently use prosthetics if it aids them in returning to normalcy. In this study, we present a design for an interchangeable and functional prosthetic wrist that enables critical hand motions such as rotation.
METHODS: BCMF currently provides custom-fitted, low-cost, 3D-printed prostheses that are found on Thingiverse, a public library of 3D designs. One such design is the Kwawu Arm 2.0 [2], which can be adjusted with OpenSCAD [4], a software for modifying 3D CAD models to fit the recipient's measurements. To maintain BCMF’s workflow, the interchangeable wrist model was created using the 3D design software, Autodesk Fusion 360, and designs from open sourced Quick-Connect Wrist designs found on Thingiverse [3]. The wrist was merged onto the Kwawu Arm, printed, assembled, and tested for durability and comfort both with and without patients. This is an iterative process where patient feedback ensures the prosthetics cater to the diverse needs of the recipients.
RESULTS: Since the launch of the prosthetics project in 2019, BCMF has provided 3D-printed prosthetics to 76 patients. The interchangeable hand provides a solution to many patients' everyday activities and can rotate the hand 360 degrees (Fig.2) and has been tested on and used by one patient thus far (Fig.1).
CONCLUSIONS: The BCMF prosthetics project provides a low-cost solution to healthcare challenges in the context of poly-crisis experienced in Myanmar, enhancing the resilience and adaptability of affected refugee communities. The collaboration between BCMF and Queen’s University demonstrates the potential for future partnerships between educational institutions and NGOs to address health care access disparities. Future work includes continuing to fill the gap between open-sourced models and patient-specific needs to refine the 3D-printing workflow by continuing to create customizable, generalized designs. We also plan to test the interchangeable wrist with more patients and develop body-powered prosthetic designs to support more critical movements.
REFERENCES: [1]Burma Children Medical Fund - Mae Sot, Thailand. BCMF | Burma Children Medical Fund - Mae Sot, Thailand - Operating to give people a future. (n.d.). https://burmachildren.com/ [2]Buchanan, J. (2018, March 27). Kwawu Arm 2.0 - Prosthetic - socket version. Thingiverse. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2841281 [3]NIOP. (2022, February 9). NIOP Q-C V1 quick-connect wrist. Thingiverse. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5238794 [4]OpenSCAD. The Programmers Solid 3D CAD Modeller. (n.d.). https://openscad.org/ [5]UN. Overview of Myanmar nationals in Thailand. IOM UN migration. https://thailand.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl1371/files/documents/2024-10/overview-of-myanmar-nationals-in-thailand-october-24.pdf
},
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pubstate = {published},
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METHODS: BCMF currently provides custom-fitted, low-cost, 3D-printed prostheses that are found on Thingiverse, a public library of 3D designs. One such design is the Kwawu Arm 2.0 [2], which can be adjusted with OpenSCAD [4], a software for modifying 3D CAD models to fit the recipient's measurements. To maintain BCMF’s workflow, the interchangeable wrist model was created using the 3D design software, Autodesk Fusion 360, and designs from open sourced Quick-Connect Wrist designs found on Thingiverse [3]. The wrist was merged onto the Kwawu Arm, printed, assembled, and tested for durability and comfort both with and without patients. This is an iterative process where patient feedback ensures the prosthetics cater to the diverse needs of the recipients.
RESULTS: Since the launch of the prosthetics project in 2019, BCMF has provided 3D-printed prosthetics to 76 patients. The interchangeable hand provides a solution to many patients' everyday activities and can rotate the hand 360 degrees (Fig.2) and has been tested on and used by one patient thus far (Fig.1).
CONCLUSIONS: The BCMF prosthetics project provides a low-cost solution to healthcare challenges in the context of poly-crisis experienced in Myanmar, enhancing the resilience and adaptability of affected refugee communities. The collaboration between BCMF and Queen’s University demonstrates the potential for future partnerships between educational institutions and NGOs to address health care access disparities. Future work includes continuing to fill the gap between open-sourced models and patient-specific needs to refine the 3D-printing workflow by continuing to create customizable, generalized designs. We also plan to test the interchangeable wrist with more patients and develop body-powered prosthetic designs to support more critical movements.
REFERENCES: [1]Burma Children Medical Fund - Mae Sot, Thailand. BCMF | Burma Children Medical Fund - Mae Sot, Thailand - Operating to give people a future. (n.d.). https://burmachildren.com/ [2]Buchanan, J. (2018, March 27). Kwawu Arm 2.0 - Prosthetic - socket version. Thingiverse. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2841281 [3]NIOP. (2022, February 9). NIOP Q-C V1 quick-connect wrist. Thingiverse. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5238794 [4]OpenSCAD. The Programmers Solid 3D CAD Modeller. (n.d.). https://openscad.org/ [5]UN. Overview of Myanmar nationals in Thailand. IOM UN migration. https://thailand.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl1371/files/documents/2024-10/overview-of-myanmar-nationals-in-thailand-october-24.pdf
Elkind, Emese; Radcliffe, Olivia; Tun, Aung Tin; Connolly, Laura; Davison, Colleen; Purkey, Eva; Fichtinger, Gabor; Thornton, Kanchana
Strengthening Low-cost Prosthetic Solutions in Thailand/Myanmar Through Academic Institution-NGO Collaboration Honorable Mention Conference
Health & Human Rights Conference, Queen's University School of Medicine, 2025.
@conference{Elkind2025,
title = {Strengthening Low-cost Prosthetic Solutions in Thailand/Myanmar Through Academic Institution-NGO Collaboration },
author = {Emese Elkind and Olivia Radcliffe and Aung Tin Tun and Laura Connolly and Colleen Davison and Eva Purkey and Gabor Fichtinger and Kanchana Thornton
},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-02-22},
urldate = {2025-02-22},
booktitle = {Health & Human Rights Conference},
publisher = {School of Medicine},
organization = {Queen's University},
abstract = {The ongoing civil war in Myanmar, along with the related coup in 2021, have displaced millions of refugees to Thailand, where many lack immigration status and cannot access medical care. The Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF) [1] addresses these challenges by providing funding and support for medical treatment, including a 3D-printed prosthetics program initiated in 2019 for individuals with limb loss. Due to limited Computer-Aided Design (CAD) experience, BCMF staff have turned to open-source prosthetic designs. We aim to establish an academia-NGO partnership to strengthen BCMF’s efforts, provide technical support, and broaden outreach to underserved communities needing low-cost, body-powered prosthetic devices. Our collaboration includes Queen’s University volunteers traveling to BCMF’s workshop for on-ground support and continuing remote assistance. As BCMF utilizes open-source prosthetic designs from platforms such as Thingiverse [2], we wanted to maintain the 3D printing workflow while addressing gaps in open-source prosthetic offerings. We identified three critical needs: devices for short-below-elbow amputees, above-elbow amputees, and a detachable, rotatable wrist. In response, we modified BCMF’s most used prosthetic design to customize the model for these specific needs. We conducted iterative testing for durability and comfort, ensuring constant communication between staff and recipients, allowing patient feedback to guide our designs. Over the past two years, Queen’s University has sent two volunteers to BCMF, with another planned for this year. So far, five recipients use our short-below-elbow prosthetic design, and one has received a quick connect wrist. In addition, we are currently collaborating remotely on a new prosthetic design for above-elbow amputees. This partnership between Queen’s University and BCMF improves access to low-cost prosthetic solutions, expands BCMF’s recipient pool, and demonstrates the potential for future partnerships between educational institutions and NGOs to address disparities in healthcare access.
References
[1] Burma Children Medical Fund - Mae Sot, Thailand. BCMF | Burma Children Medical Fund - Mae Sot, Thailand - Operating to give people a future. https://burmachildren.com/
[2] Buchanan, J. (2018, March 27). Kwawu Arm 2.0 - Prosthetic - socket version. Thingiverse. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2841281 },
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {conference}
}
References
[1] Burma Children Medical Fund - Mae Sot, Thailand. BCMF | Burma Children Medical Fund - Mae Sot, Thailand - Operating to give people a future. https://burmachildren.com/
[2] Buchanan, J. (2018, March 27). Kwawu Arm 2.0 - Prosthetic - socket version. Thingiverse. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2841281
Elkind, Emese; Tun, Aung Tin; Radcliffe, Olivia; Connolly, Laura; Davison, Colleen; Purkey, Eva; Mousavi, Parvin; Fichtinger, Gabor; Thornton, Kanchana
Canadian Association for Global Health, 2024.
@conference{Elkind2024b,
title = {Enhancing healthcare access by developing low-cost 3D printed prosthetics along the Thai-Myanmar border},
author = {Emese Elkind and Aung Tin Tun and Olivia Radcliffe and Laura Connolly and Colleen Davison and Eva Purkey and Parvin Mousavi and Gabor Fichtinger and Kanchana Thornton
},
url = {https://labs.cs.queensu.ca/perklab/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/EElkind_CCGH2024.pdf},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-10-25},
urldate = {2024-10-25},
publisher = {Canadian Association for Global Health},
abstract = {Background/Objective
Inadequacies in the Burmese healthcare system, heightened by the 2021 military coup of the civil war in Myanmar and the COVID-19 pandemic, have driven thousands of refugees to Thailand seeking medical aid. Without immigration status, these refugees, especially those who have experienced limb loss, are challenged by the inability to receive healthcare. Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF, www.burmachildren.com) based in Mae Sot, Tak, Thailand focuses on funding underserved Burmese communities’ medical treatment and providing support services.
Prosthetics in lower-income countries are usually passive, therefore, patients cannot fully perform their daily functions, impacting their abilities to work and affecting family caretakers. BCMF aims to make body-powered prosthetics that work best in low-resource settings using open-source designs, which only allow for fixed hand positions. The usage of prosthetic arms depends heavily on their functionality and comfort. Patients are more likely to consistently use prosthetics if it aids them in returning to normalcy and reducing family burdens. My objective is to design an interchangeable hand to enable critical rotational movements.
Methodology
The BCMF prosthetics project makes custom-fitted, low-cost, 3D-printed prostheses. BCMF uses open-source prosthetic models such as the Kwawu Arm 2.0, which provides an OpenSCAD (openscad.org) file for adjusting the model to the recipient's measurements. To maintain BCMF’s workflow, the interchangeable wrist model was created using the 3D design software, Autodesk Fusion 360, and designs from NIOP Q-C v1 and v2 Quick-Connect Wrist. The wrist was merged onto the Kwawu Arm, printed, assembled, and tested. This is an iterative process where patient feedback ensures the prosthetics cater to the diverse needs of the recipients.
Results
Since the launch of the prosthetics project in 2019, BCMF has provided 3D-printed prosthetics to 76 patients. The interchangeable hand provides a solution to many patients' everyday activities and can rotate the hand 360 degrees.
Conclusions
This project provides a low-cost solution to healthcare challenges in the context of poly-crisis experienced in Myanmar, enhancing the resilience and adaptability of affected refugee communities.
Relevance to Sub-Theme
This presentation aligns with sub-theme 2 by developing and testing methods to improve healthcare access and quality in areas affected by war, migration, poverty, and racial disparities.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {conference}
}
Inadequacies in the Burmese healthcare system, heightened by the 2021 military coup of the civil war in Myanmar and the COVID-19 pandemic, have driven thousands of refugees to Thailand seeking medical aid. Without immigration status, these refugees, especially those who have experienced limb loss, are challenged by the inability to receive healthcare. Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF, www.burmachildren.com) based in Mae Sot, Tak, Thailand focuses on funding underserved Burmese communities’ medical treatment and providing support services.
Prosthetics in lower-income countries are usually passive, therefore, patients cannot fully perform their daily functions, impacting their abilities to work and affecting family caretakers. BCMF aims to make body-powered prosthetics that work best in low-resource settings using open-source designs, which only allow for fixed hand positions. The usage of prosthetic arms depends heavily on their functionality and comfort. Patients are more likely to consistently use prosthetics if it aids them in returning to normalcy and reducing family burdens. My objective is to design an interchangeable hand to enable critical rotational movements.
Methodology
The BCMF prosthetics project makes custom-fitted, low-cost, 3D-printed prostheses. BCMF uses open-source prosthetic models such as the Kwawu Arm 2.0, which provides an OpenSCAD (openscad.org) file for adjusting the model to the recipient's measurements. To maintain BCMF’s workflow, the interchangeable wrist model was created using the 3D design software, Autodesk Fusion 360, and designs from NIOP Q-C v1 and v2 Quick-Connect Wrist. The wrist was merged onto the Kwawu Arm, printed, assembled, and tested. This is an iterative process where patient feedback ensures the prosthetics cater to the diverse needs of the recipients.
Results
Since the launch of the prosthetics project in 2019, BCMF has provided 3D-printed prosthetics to 76 patients. The interchangeable hand provides a solution to many patients' everyday activities and can rotate the hand 360 degrees.
Conclusions
This project provides a low-cost solution to healthcare challenges in the context of poly-crisis experienced in Myanmar, enhancing the resilience and adaptability of affected refugee communities.
Relevance to Sub-Theme
This presentation aligns with sub-theme 2 by developing and testing methods to improve healthcare access and quality in areas affected by war, migration, poverty, and racial disparities.
Radcliffe, Olivia; Connolly, Laura; Ungi, Tamas; Yeo, Caitlin; Rudan, John F.; Fichtinger, Gabor; Mousavi, Parvin
Navigated surgical resection cavity inspection for breast conserving surgery Proceedings
2023.
@proceedings{nokey,
title = {Navigated surgical resection cavity inspection for breast conserving surgery},
author = {Olivia Radcliffe and Laura Connolly and Tamas Ungi and Caitlin Yeo and John F. Rudan and Gabor Fichtinger and Parvin Mousavi},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2654015},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-04-03},
abstract = {Up to 40% of Breast Conserving Surgery (BCS) patients must undergo repeat surgery because cancer is left behind in the resection cavity. The mobility of the breast resection cavity makes it difficult to localize residual cancer and, therefore, cavity shaving is a common technique for cancer removal. Cavity shaving involves removing an additional layer of tissue from the entire resection cavity, often resulting in unnecessary healthy tissue loss. In this study, we demonstrated a navigation system and open-source software module that facilitates visualization of the breast resection cavity for targeted localization of residual cancer.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}
Radcliffe, Olivia; Connolly, Laura; Ungi, Tamas; Yeo, Caitlin; Rudan, John F; Fichtinger, Gabor; Mousavi, Parvin
Navigated surgical resection cavity inspection for breast conserving surgery Journal Article
In: vol. 12466, pp. 234-241, 2023.
@article{fichtinger2023t,
title = {Navigated surgical resection cavity inspection for breast conserving surgery},
author = {Olivia Radcliffe and Laura Connolly and Tamas Ungi and Caitlin Yeo and John F Rudan and Gabor Fichtinger and Parvin Mousavi},
url = {https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/12466/124660Z/Navigated-surgical-resection-cavity-inspection-for-breast-conserving-surgery/10.1117/12.2654015.short},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
volume = {12466},
pages = {234-241},
publisher = {SPIE},
abstract = {Up to 40% of Breast Conserving Surgery (BCS) patients must undergo repeat surgery because cancer is left behind in the resection cavity. The mobility of the breast resection cavity makes it difficult to localize residual cancer and, therefore, cavity shaving is a common technique for cancer removal. Cavity shaving involves removing an additional layer of tissue from the entire resection cavity, often resulting in unnecessary healthy tissue loss. In this study, we demonstrated a navigation system and open-source software module that facilitates visualization of the breast resection cavity for targeted localization of residual cancer.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}