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World’s Most Advanced Prosthetic Hand for Amputees

On January 12, 2010 in General

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The evolution of prosthetics is a long and storied history, from its primitive beginnings to its sophisticated present, to the exciting visions of the future. Prosthetic devices have existed for centuries. Originally prosthetics were simply replacements for missing limbs, but now they help people have extremely active lives. Such improvements have been made possible because of new surgical techniques, the advancement of components for making prosthetics, and creative engineering ideas.

One such remarkable invention is the bionic hand (i-LIMB™ ) developed by Touch Bionics . The Touch Bionics is a technology company based in Scotland. This device came out for sale in July 2007 with a price of 10,000 pounds and has been used in mutilated soldiers and patients with no hands. It has won Britain’s most prestigious award in engineering, the Mac Robert Award .
This invention comprises two patent applications: one for the hand prosthesis (EP 0748194) and the other for the prosthesis covering (EP 2074254).

The world’s first commercially available hand took many years to develop. Research on the device started in the United Kingdom’s national health system back in the 1960s. David Gow, one of the founders of Touch Bionics, an engineer working at the Princess Margaret Rose Hospital in Edinburgh, invented the original technology.
The device relies on traditional myoelectric principles while taking advantage of the mechanical advances of five fully articulating power digits. Each of the bionic arm’s fingers are motorized — moving, bending and grasping much like a real hand. Its wires are plugged directly into an amputee’s nerves, which relay signals from the brain, much like a real hand.
The thumb and three digits are powered individually; the little finger is slaved to the third finger. The thumb can rotate, so that the hand can perform the three most common grip configurations of the human hand. The digits can be articulated to hold a mug and the thumb can be held against the phalange of the index finger to hold a key, or against the first and second digits to grasp a pen.
The Touch Bionic prosthesis is therefore anatomically more similar to that of a human than any previous prosthetic hand. It is even covered with high definition silicon rubber to give the appearance of a real hand.

The i-LIMB™ Hand presents not just a technical breakthrough but an improved aesthetic appearance as well. The Touch Bionics products are the first prosthetic hands to imitate the true movement and lifelike accuracy of a human hand.
Cosmesis is the flexible skin covering that covers the i-LIMB Hand and ProDigits. By applying in-house expertise and partnering with companies that specialize in cosmesis, Touch Bionics has achieved major breakthroughs in the aesthetic appearance of its prosthetic products. As a result of this co-operation they applied for a patent of a “process for forming coverings” (EP 2074254), which describes the process of the application of uncured silicone rubber to a textile substrate, comprising an elastic fiber. This helps the covering form more rapidly, able to flex and stretch as the natural skin does.
India has about a million amputees, who rely on simple prostheses that can, at best, open and close. Some amputees have reconstructed hands or transplanted fingers, which are often hard to use or useless. This motorized limb (i-LIMB Hand) directly controlled by brain works like a natural hand, making life much easier for the affected.
http://www.ipr-helpdesk.org/newsletter/44/html/EN/patentOfTheMonth.html

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