World’s First Bionic Hand

Touch bionics have finally made it possible to replace Human hand effectively with a bionic one: A Giant leap ahead in Robotics.

The hand is better known as ProDigits which can be controlled two ways: by myoelectric sensors that register muscle signals from the palm or the remnant finger, or by a pressure sensitive switch from a force resistive sensor. This means that it works out of the box integrating well with your body and muscle signals. The degree of functionality they give back to people is truly incredible.

“Partial-hand amputation represents the largest group of arm amputees, and with ProDigits we finally have a functional state-of-the-art myoelectric prosthesis that we can offer this previously underserved amputee population,” said Jack Uellendahl, C.P.O., clinical prosthetics specialist, Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics. “With ProDigits, each finger is capable of being a standalone functional unit, allowing for fitting of many different configurations of hand absence. In addition, the movement of the ProDigit prosthesis is natural in appearance, delivering a more elegant solution to partial hand restoration than previously possible.”

You should see the joy it has brought to the patients, watch them share their experience:

The hand has already been tested and used by people across the country. Currently, over 30 people are outfitted with ProDigits, bionic fingers that can actually grab and pick up objects in a way that previous prostheses couldn’t.
Sure the bionic Humanoids World starts, But What’s next? A chip in the Brain?

[via TouchBionics]