Bionic Hand Unveiled in Britain

A new hope has arrived for amputees that would make Luke Skywalker feel right at home: a highly advanced bionic hand controlled by a patient’s mind and muscles. The newly released iLimb is the first prosthetic hand to have fully functional motorized digits that move and bend independently, its makers say. Electrodes taped to the skin transmit signals to tiny motors that power the fingers.

Hey, Can I get one of those?

Previous artificial hands had only a thumb and forefinger that worked in a clawlike grasping action. But the new device allows amputees to carry out more delicate movements such as peeling a banana, typing on a computer, or eating with a knife and fork. The iLimb is also covered by a semitransparent “cosmesis” that is computer modeled to look like human skin.

The hand, manufactured by Touch Bionics of Scotland, went on sale Tuesday in Britain for £8,500 (U.S. $17,454).

Fourteen amputees, including Iraq war veterans, were fitted with the robotic hand during an extensive trial period. One of these patients, Donald McKillop, 61, lost his right hand in an industrial accident nearly 30 years ago. “They tell you to try and think as if you have two hands,” McKillop told the Telegraph newspaper. “It is a real learning curve, and every day it gets easier. I was amazed how much I could do within the first hour of trying it.”

The iLimb. It even plays mp3s.

Cyborg-style ‘iLimb’ hand a big hit with Iraq veterans

A Scottish prosthetics company engaged in publicising its new bionic hand claims to have achieved significant advances in its field - and says servicemen injured in combat “love the more robotic look” of its technology.

Touch Bionics, based in Livingston, also seems set for a potentially lucrative lawsuit scuffle in future. If Apple’s Steve Jobs ever gets interested in the medical industry he’ll find that he needs to pay off Touch Bionics for the “iLimb” trademark. Meanwhile, Touch is already marketing its iLimb prosthetic hand. The device is operated in relatively conventional myo-electric fashion, by reading electrical muscle signals generated in the remaining limb of the user. Myo-electric limbs have been around for generations, but have typically been limited to relatively limited “c-clamp” functionality, often prone to control issues.

Touch quotes ex-US Army sergeant Juan Arredondo, who lost his hand to an insurgent bomb in 2004 and has recently tried out the iLimb. Apparently, his old myo-electric hand was prone to crushing cups or other fragile objects, but the iLimb boasts “built-in stall detection” which “tells each individual finger when it has sufficient grip on an object and, therefore, when to stop powering”. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it,” said Arredondo. “With my other myoelectric hand, I would really have to concentrate…the iLimb hand does things naturally. I can just grab the cup like a regular person.”

Steve Austin not impressed.

The iLimb also boasts a range of different grips and configurations, and can rotate about the wrist axis. This allows a user to turn a key in a lock, pick up or manipulate objects between thumb and index or middle finger, or type (though only with the index finger). The extended index finger option is also useful for pointing, seemingly, and an “OK” sign is also achievable. There was no mention of any option to extend the middle finger alone or first two fingers simultaneously - which would seem an obvious necessity.

Touch also offers realistic skin coverings, making the iLimb appear much like a normal hand. They note, however, that this option isn’t universally popular. “Some patients, mainly military personnel, particularly love the robotic nature of the uncovered iLimb Hand and prefer not to wear it with a cosmesis glove,” says the company. This isn’t recommended, however, for practical reasons: but Touch has done its best for those wishing to show off their cyborg chic: “Because of the need to provide a grip surface and to protect the hand from dust and water, Touch Bionics has developed the iLimb Skin. This is a thin layer of semi-transparent material.”

Touch says the iLimb is “two to three times more expensive than other more traditional myoelectric devices. Each iLimb Hand costs about US$18,000″.