Hand prosthetic gives teen new independence
August 25, 2011 by Nancy Owano 
(PhysOrg.com) -- A 15 year old British girl, Chloe Holmes, has been in the news as being among the youngest in Europe to wear a special prosthetic hand with state of the art bionic fingers. The bionic digits have enabled her to cut her own food, to eat with knife and fork, and brush her teeth for the first time since stricken with streptococcal septicemia, after coming down with chicken pox, at three years of age. The illness caused her to lose all her fingers on the left hand. She was left with one thumb and half a finger on her right hand. Sensors in the sleeve of her prosthetic hand made by Touch Bionics in Scotland enable her to manipulate objects, no small achievement considering the difficulties amputees have traditionally faced in living with prosthetic hands.
The company has enhanced its technologies to the point of enabling prosthetic fingers to grip narrow objects, referred to as the “credit card grip,” and “power hold” motions for wider objects like coffee mugs.
This video is not supported by your browser at this time.
The bionic hand that has helped her experience such milestones cost approximately £38,000 ($54,700). An older, and far less expensive, generation of artificial hands have enabled people with hand amputations to open and close their hands; a newer generation of myoelectric prostheses enable the manipulation of fingers for greater hand independence. Touch Bionics has since 2007 been turning corners in myoelectric prostheses with enhancements that showcase how far the technology has come.The company's BioSim software allows medical practitioners to observe patients' myoelectric impulses and to deploy control options and features.
Touch Bionics has a family of prosthetic products: i-LIMB Pulse, for advanced activity needs, the i-LIMB hand, and ProDigits for partial hand absence.
The i-LIMB hand, with its five individually powered digits, won the 2008 Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award. It's a prestigious prize in the UK, awarded for innovations in engineering.
More information: via Daily Mail
© 2011 PhysOrg.com
-
From lemons to lemonade: Reaction uses carbon dioxide to make carbon-based semiconductor,
32 comments
-
Thioridazine kills cancer stem cells in human while avoiding toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments,
3 comments
-
SpaceX private rocket blasts off for space station (Update),
42 comments
-
Climate scientists say they have solved riddle of rising sea,
31 comments
-
SpaceX capsule has 'new car' smell, astronauts say (Update),
2 comments
-
Need a rigid insulation material???
15 hours ago
-
magnets or EMF in car bumpers to protect from fender bender
May 26, 2012
-
length of wire in a coil of known dimensions?
May 25, 2012
-
India Engineering Powerhouse
May 25, 2012
-
electromagnet core dereference between hard and soft iron
May 25, 2012
-
Measuring water pressure in an open tank
May 24, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - General Engineering
More news stories
Browser wars flare in mobile space
The browser wars are heating up again, but this time the fight is for dominance of the mobile Internet.
7 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
3
Probability of contamination from severe nuclear reactor accidents is higher than expected: study
Catastrophic nuclear accidents such as the core meltdowns in Chernobyl and Fukushima are more likely to happen than previously assumed. Based on the operating hours of all civil nuclear reactors and the number ...
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
May 22, 2012 |
3.6 / 5 (22) |
56
|
SpotterRF debuts Radar Backpack Kit (w/ Video)
(Phys.org) -- SpotterRF has announced a special radar backpack kit designed to enhance situational awareness for soldiers on the ground. The company says its special radar is designed for warfighters as part ...
Technology / Hi Tech & Innovation
May 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
13
|
HyperSolar shows dirty water no barrier to power world
(Phys.org) -- The Santa Barbara, California, company, HyperSolar, is set to transparently share the ups and downs of its research experiences toward the company’s ultimate vision, successfully producing ...
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
May 24, 2012 |
4.8 / 5 (16) |
17
|
Tesla to launch electric sedan in US on June 22
Tesla Motors said Tuesday it would begin deliveries of "the world's first premium electric sedan" on June 22, slightly ahead of schedule.
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
May 22, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
18
Change in developmental timing was crucial in the evolutionary shift from dinosaurs to birds: study
At first glance, it's hard to see how a common house sparrow and a Tyrannosaurus Rex might have anything in common. After all, one is a bird that weighs less than an ounce, and the other is a dinosaur that ...
Computer model used to pinpoint prime materials for efficient carbon capture
When power plants begin capturing their carbon emissions to reduce greenhouse gases – and to most in the electric power industry, it's a question of when, not if – it will be an expensive undertaking.
'Unzipped' carbon nanotubes could help energize fuel cells, batteries
Multi-walled carbon nanotubes riddled with defects and impurities on the outside could replace some of the expensive platinum catalysts used in fuel cells and metal-air batteries, according to scientists at ...
T cells 'hunt' parasites like animal predators seek prey, study shows
By pairing an intimate knowledge of immune-system function with a deep understanding of statistical physics, a cross-disciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania has arrived at a surprising finding: T cells use a movement ...
Manufacturing genes to attack flu virus
An international research team has manufactured a new protein that can combat deadly flu epidemics.
Yale study concludes public apathy over climate change unrelated to science literacy
Are members of the public divided about climate change because they don't understand the science behind it? If Americans knew more basic science and were more proficient in technical reasoning, would public consensus match ...
