If you’re a master chef or a home cook or someone who occasionally wanders into a kitchen in search of food, you’d know that your life is much easier with two hands. Cutting vegetables, washing dishes, using a frying pan and basically just doing things requires both your hands. That’s why it’s so heartbreaking that classically-trained chef Eduardo Garcia lost his left hand in an electrocution accident. But that’s why it also makes it even more awesome that he’s been outfitted with a bionic hand to help him in the kitchen.
Throughout the years, medical technology has been delivering some amazing advances as we’ve seen a man run with blades for legs in the London Olympics and earlier this year, a truly Bionic Man.
This weekend, a report was published that highlighted the first bionic hand where the amputee could feel what they were touching, which is expected to be transplanted into a 20-something year old patient living in Rome. The bionic hand will be connected into the patient’s nervous system, which doctors are hoping the patient is then able to control the hand’s movements as well as receive touch signals from skin sensors installed on the hand. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: The Obama Administration’s Newest Project: Map The Human Brain, Second Sight Argus II Artificial Retina Approved For Use,
The only upgrades available for our puny human hands are gaming controller calluses, but if you’re sporting an i-LIMB digits hand prosthesis, you can now grab a set of improved fingers. Touch Bionics’ “smaller, lighter and more anatomically accurate” appendages are now available worldwide, as well as a new wrist-band unit which houses all the necessary computing power and juice for their function. Best of all, these developments allow more people to adopt the tech than the previous generation, including those with more petite hands or finger amputations closer to the knuckle. We don’t know how much it’ll cost for a fresh set, but we’ll let health agencies and insurance companies deal with that part. With these upgrades and RSL Steeper’s latest offering, it won’t be long before our flesh-based variants are meager in comparison.
Continue reading Touch Bionics releases new prosthetic fingers, flips the old ones the bird
Filed under: Misc, Robots, Wearables
Touch Bionics releases new prosthetic fingers, flips the old ones the bird originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Sep 2012 03:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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bebionic3 bionic hand launched
Posted in: Today's ChiliA couple of years ago, we talked about how the bebionic bionic hand is ready to rock and roll. Well, fast forward by two years, and we already have the bebionic3 in tow, where it was officially launched at the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association 2012 National Assembly. This innovative piece of medical technology will see improvements made over the current bebionic, boasting a revolutionary new design and the clever implementation of advanced new materials which make it a whole lot more durable. Your “grip” will be improved, and so will the strength and accuracy departments be affected accordingly. Smart electronics and significant aesthetic improvements coupled with new software makes the bebionic3 bionic hand easier to use than ever before.
According to Paul Steeper, Managing Director of RSLSteeper Products Division, “bebionic3 is the culmination of many years of development, and has the potential to revolutionise the lives of amputees from across the world. We have been able to make significant improvements to a design that was already the world’s most advanced myo-electric hand, making it stronger, more precise and easier to programme. The new hand has been designed to help amputees to tackle real-life, everyday situations, and provides the perfect balance between advanced technology, functionality and aesthetics.”
Let us hope that Paul is correct, and who knows, Anakin Skywalker’s bionic hand might not be too far off in the future. [Press Release]
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Bebionic electric hand ready to rock and roll, Bionic fingers’ youngest recipient is just 15-year old,