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Bionic Hand Makes it to Market

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the we-have-the-technology dept.

root_42 writes "The BBC reports that a Scottish company has developed a bionic prosthetic hand, which is now going to market: 'The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient's mind and muscles ... Mr Gow, who is the director of rehabilitation engineering services at NHS Lothian, told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "It's the first hand to come to the market that's actually had bending fingers just like your own hand."' The device really seems very "cool", compared to other prosthetics, and seems to allow the patients a wide variety of day-to-day activities. Also check out the patient gallery."

7 of 159 comments (clear)

  1. Feedback or Senses? by tb3 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It sounds from the article ("Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it. With my other hand, I would really have to concentrate on how much pressure I was putting on the cup.") that there's some form of feedback mechanism, but I thought that was years away. Without pressure sensors, a you really have is a 'Waldo' attached to your wrist, you've got no way of knowing how much force you're exerting on an object.

    Then, of course, you really want the rest of the sensory package, touch, temperature, pain feedback, and all the other things your hands do for you.

    --

    www.lucernesys.comHorizon: Calendar-based personal finance

  2. Use for non-organic manipulation by dada21 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have a mentally retarded brother-in-law who has hands we call "the grips of steel." He's mentally like a 2 year old but physically like a 25 year old in great shape. When he grips onto you, he can break bones, and leave a bruise at the minimum. It's impossible to get out of his kung-fu grip, so we don't hold his hand anymore but his wrist.

    I always think of prosthetic hands when I have to help him into or out of a car or down steps. If the hand doesn't respond to the user, or if the user has a bad mental reaction, I wonder how much force can be applied by the prosthetic. Car windows aren't supposed to choke you if they're closed around your neck, but a prosthetic hand has to have the right balance of strength AND speed. What is the back-up release mechanism if there's a problem?

  3. how strong? by icegreentea · · Score: 3, Interesting

    does anyone have any idea how strong (grip strength, shock resistant, etc) these hands are? i notice theres diagram in the article showing a 'power grip', but it doesn't go into detail on its limits.

  4. Two words: by ringfinger · · Score: 4, Interesting
    "Awesome Attachments!"


    I can't imagine making something like this without attachments that extend it's use beyond that of the human hand.

    The goal shouldn't be to replace a hand, it should be to provide something much cooler.

    --
    21st-Century-Citizen
    1. Re:Two words: by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's surprising how your brain adapts to process different types of nerve input. Like, if your prosthetic hand always gave you the sensation of cold when you pointed it in a northern direction, or the sensation of heat whenever you passed it near a "live" electrical source, or a strong magnetic field. They've got a device that allows you to "see" with your tongue, and brain scans of the people using the device show that the visual cortext is active and processing...even in people who are blind from birth.

      So a limited signal palette is not necessarily a handicap, though the bandwidth obviously depends on nerve density, etc.

      --
      ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
    2. Re:Two words: by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Did you read the article in Wired about the guy who wore that thing for a year? That's what I was thinking of with the north thing.

      Lot of enhancements don't really interest me, but that one did. If they find a way to condense something like that to an implant, I'd be willing to try it out.

      --
      ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
  5. Re:Why is it always plastic? by rkww · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They thought of that... see the faq:

    Q. What about the sci-fi robotic hand?

    A. Some patients, mainly military personnel, particularly love the robotic nature of the uncovered i-LIMB Hand and prefer not to wear it with a cosmesis glove. However, because of the need to provide a grip surface and to protect the hand from dust and water, Touch Bionics has developed the i-LIMB Skin. This is a thin layer of semi-transparent material that has been computer-modeled to accurately wrap to every contour of the hand.