Bionic Hand Put Into Action

Posted 21 Jan 2009 at 15:54 UTC by Rog-a-matic

Evan Reynolds (19) adapted to his new bionic hand in only a few minutes. The rugby-playing student at UWE had his hand torn off in a car accident, ruining his plans to join the Army on top of the trauma. With Touch Bionic's i-Limb prototype, Evan can now do the things most of us take for granted such as holding a cup of water and even write. The mechanical limb has individual motors for each finger, electrodes at the forearm for control, and a battery pack strapped to the upper arm. Sensitivity of the actuators along with sensors even allows Evan to grasp an egg without crushing it. In spite of the initial success and his restored abilities, Evan still finds it better to take the limb off when playing his favorite sports. Time Magazine named the i-Limb as one of the Top 50 inventions of 2008 - (#14).