Touch Bionics - The Next Generation of Artificial Hands
As of July 2007, Touch Bionics - a Scottish prosthetics company - has made its i-LIMB hand and Prodigits partial hand available to hand amputees across the US and Europe. The i-LIMB hand contains all five digits and is used as a total hand replacement. The Prodigits partial hand is used for patients who have lost one or more digits but not the entire hand.
Within these devices are two electrodes which contact the skin of the forearm and are used to pick up electrical impulses from the muscles of the forearm. A control software (which is integrated into the hand) is then used to amplify and filter the impulses in order to produce the appropriate signal needed to set the motor speed for each of the device's motors. Each digit in these devices is controlled by a separate motor, which allows for a wide range of motion. The thumbs of these devices can also be rotated manually, allowing the thumb to touch different fingers when the hand contracts.
The fingertips of these devices are specially designed in order to curve around an object when the hand contracts, providing for a solid grip. However, when the hand is contracting and the device senses that a finger has stopped moving (because it has grasped the object), a specialized control system determines the point at which the finger has achieved sufficient grip and then stops the finger from contracting any further. The motor for that finger is then locked until the user sends an "open" signal. This feature allows the user to maintain a solid grip on an object without crushing it.
The devices are modular in design, and thus damaged parts can be easily interchanged or replaced. The devices are also covered with a flexible material known as cosmesis which simulates skin and protects the device from dust and water damage. Cosmesis is naturally somewhat transparent, but can be detailed and stained in order to achieve an incredibly life-like appearance.
I found this article fascinating because these recent advancements in biotechnology have allowed hand amputees to once again have full use of both hands.
The article can be found at http://www.emeraldinsight.com.lib-ezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=Article&Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0490350401.html.
Within these devices are two electrodes which contact the skin of the forearm and are used to pick up electrical impulses from the muscles of the forearm. A control software (which is integrated into the hand) is then used to amplify and filter the impulses in order to produce the appropriate signal needed to set the motor speed for each of the device's motors. Each digit in these devices is controlled by a separate motor, which allows for a wide range of motion. The thumbs of these devices can also be rotated manually, allowing the thumb to touch different fingers when the hand contracts.
The fingertips of these devices are specially designed in order to curve around an object when the hand contracts, providing for a solid grip. However, when the hand is contracting and the device senses that a finger has stopped moving (because it has grasped the object), a specialized control system determines the point at which the finger has achieved sufficient grip and then stops the finger from contracting any further. The motor for that finger is then locked until the user sends an "open" signal. This feature allows the user to maintain a solid grip on an object without crushing it.
The devices are modular in design, and thus damaged parts can be easily interchanged or replaced. The devices are also covered with a flexible material known as cosmesis which simulates skin and protects the device from dust and water damage. Cosmesis is naturally somewhat transparent, but can be detailed and stained in order to achieve an incredibly life-like appearance.
I found this article fascinating because these recent advancements in biotechnology have allowed hand amputees to once again have full use of both hands.
The article can be found at http://www.emeraldinsight.com.lib-ezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=Article&Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0490350401.html.
posted by Daniel Verona at 7:26 PM
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