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World’s First Bionic Hand : Bend Like a Real Hand
:: 17 July, 2007
Touch Bionics, developer of the world’s first commercially available bionic hand, today announced that its i-LIMB Hand and ProDigits partial hand prostheses are now generally available and have been successfully fitted to a significant number of patients across the United States and in Europe.
Touch Bionics’ i-LIMB Hand looks and acts like a real human hand and is the world’s first widely available prosthetic device with five individually powered digits. In another industry first, Touch Bionics’ ProDigits product is adapted for patients who have a partial hand, due either to congenitally missing fingers or fingers lost through an accident. Partial hand is an area of prosthetics that has been without suitable powered products in the past.
The i-LIMB Hand and ProDigits will be formally unveiled later this month at the 12th World Congress of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics in Vancouver, Canada. But Touch Bionics’ technology is already changing the lives of patients with its prosthetic products, working with leading U.S. clinical partners including Advanced Arm Dynamics, Benchmark Orthotics and Prosthetics, Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, LIVINGSKIN and Scott Sabolich Prosthetics and Research.
Sergeant U.S. Army (ret’d.) Juan Arredondo of Universal City, TX, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004 after his patrol vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device, is one patient who today is living a different life after being fitted with the i-LIMB Hand.
“Everyday that I have the hand, it surprises me,” said Arredondo, who was with the 2nd Infantry Division, 1/506th Destroyer Company. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it. With my other myoelectric hand, I would really have to concentrate on how much pressure I was putting on the cup. The i-LIMB hand does things naturally. I can just grab the cup like a regular person.”
John German, a 40-year old medical salesman and clinical technician from Altoona, PA, who lost his hand in 1987, was recently fitted with the i-LIMB Hand. He is excited about the i-Hand’s “extensive, real-world capabilities,” compared to other prostheses he has used over the past 20 years.
“My previous hand was no better than a wireless mechanical hook, whereas the i-LIMB Hand is a dynamic hand,” Mr. German said. “Instead of a c-shaped pincher, with the i-LIMB hand, I have a full range of grips that allow me to do everything I want to do with the hand.”
Lindsay Block of Oklahoma City, OK, has had a lifetime of experience with prosthetics. Born missing the lower part of her left arm as the result of a birth defect, Ms. Block, now 26, has used almost every new generation of prosthetic technology since being fitted with her first one when only six months old. She is particularly impressed both by the life-like look of the i-LIMB and by its extensive range of motion.
“When I’m wearing the i-LIMB Hand, I’m pretty sure that someone who doesn’t know me wouldn’t even guess that it wasn’t my own hand,” she said. “It’s cool how it can adjust to whatever it is grabbing on to. With this new hand, you don’t have to strategize so much about what you do with it because you realize it’s not limited and will adjust depending on what it’s gripping on to.”
The technology behind the i-LIMB Hand has come of age after many years of research and development at Touch Bionics.
“We are delighted to be the company that moves bionic hand technology from the research and development phase into the real world, and to lead a generational advance in bionics and patient care,” said Touch Bionics CEO Stuart Mead. “We have always existed to change the lives of patients with severe injuries and disabilities, and it is thrilling to feel that we are now able to accomplish that goal.”
The i-LIMB Hand offers a unique, highly intuitive control system that uses a traditional myoelectric signal input to open and close the hand’s life-like fingers. Myoelectric controls utilize the electrical signal generated by muscles in the remaining portion of a patient’s limb. This signal is picked up by electrodes that sit on the surface of the skin. Users of existing, basic myoelectric prosthetic hands are able to quickly adapt to the system and can master the device’s new functionality within minutes. For new patients, the i-LIMB Hand offers a multi-function prosthetic solution that has never before been available.
“I was amazed by how quickly I could learn to do things with the i-LIMB Hand, even only an hour after being fitted with the hand,” said Donald McKillop of Kilmarnock, Scotland, one of the first patients to be fitted with the i-LIMB Hand. “The most important thing is the movement of the fingers, that’s what really makes the difference. It’s truly incredible to see the fingers moving and gripping around objects that I haven’t been able to pick up before. The hand does feel like a real replacement for my missing hand and it is now very natural for me to pick up all sorts of objects. It makes everyday activities much easier.”
Touch Bionics has developed a custom cosmesis, or covering, for its products. i-LIMB Skin is a thin layer of semi-transparent material that has been computer-modeled to accurately wrap to every contour of the hand.
“Cosmesis is a hugely important area in prosthetics, both for appearance and for durability reasons. It is a vital component of our solution and brings an added dimension of personal comfort and satisfaction to our patients,” said Mead. “Some patients, especially soldiers, love the more robotic look of the i-LIMB Skin, but others like their device to blend anatomically with the rest of their body, and prefer to have a life-like covering for the i-LIMB Hand and ProDigits.”
For those patients who desire a more life-like appearance for the hand, Touch Bionics has partnered with some leading companies in the development of cosmesis for its products. ARTech Laboratories and LIVINGSKIN work at the forefront of high-definition cosmesis – these companies are collaborating with Touch Bionics to offer patients a life-like solution to compliment the life-like motions and performance of the hand.
The i-LIMB Hand and ProDigits products are being shipped today and patients are being fitted at all of the clinics mentioned above in addition to other US clinics, as well as at Touch Bionics’ new state-of-the-art facility in Livingston, Scotland.
News Inside News:
Product Backgrounder
Touch Bionics is a leading developer of advanced upper-limb prosthetics (ULP). One of the two products now commercially available from the company, the i-LIMB Hand, is a first-to-market prosthetic device with five individually powered digits. This replace
The Touch Bionics i-LIMB Hand was developed using leading-edge mechanical engineering techniques and is manufactured using high-strength plastics. The result is a next-generation prosthetic device that is lightweight, robust and highly appealing to both patients and healthcare professionals.
The i-LIMB Hand is controlled by a unique, highly intuitive control system that uses a traditional two-input myoelectric (muscle signal) to open and close the hand’s life-like fingers. Myoelectric controls utilize the electrical signal generated by the muscles in the remaining portion of the patient’s limb. This signal is picked up by electrodes that sit on the surface of the skin. Existing users of basic myoelectric prosthetic hands are able to quickly adapt to the system and can master the device’s new functionality within minutes. For new patients, the i-LIMB Hand offers a prosthetic solution that has never before been available.
Partial hand
In another industry first, the i-LIMB Hand’s finger technology has been adapted for patients who have a partial hand, due either to congenitally missing fingers or fingers lost through an accident. Partial hand is an area of prosthetics that has been without suitable powered products in the past. ProDigits are another first from Touch Bionics. Not having fingers or a thumb to act in opposition to one another makes simple tasks such as holding a fork or a drink difficult and frustrating.
The modular nature of the ProDigit finger design and the individually-powered motor located within each digit means that a clinician can build replacement fingers to the correct anatomical length of the patient’s remaining undamaged fingers. This new solution can help the many individuals who so far have had no effective options available to them.
Advanced controls
With its first commercially available i-LIMB Hand, Touch Bionics is utilizing the myoelectric principles used in existing devices while taking advantage of the mechanical advance of five fully-articulating powered digits. The inclusion of a thumb that can, like the human thumb, be rotated into different positions enables important grip configurations, many of which have not been available to amputees before. The grasp of the hand is much more like that of a human hand with the articulating fingers able to close tightly around objects. Built-in detection tells each individual finger when it has sufficient grip on an object and, therefore, when to stop powering. Individual fingers lock into position until the patient triggers an open signal through a simple muscle flex.
Whereas previous myoelectric hands could only be opened and closed, the i-LIMB Hand offers numerous different grip patterns. These new grip options enhance dexterity and support almost all daily living activities, giving doctors, prosthetists and occupational therapists completely new options for enhanced patient rehabilitation and quality of life. For example, patients are now able to point the index finger to operate a PC keyboard, or to rotate the thumb to meet the side of the index finger to hold a plate or turn a key in a lock. None of these functions have been possible before.
The i-LIMB Hand is anatomically correct both when resting and in motion. This is a key innovation that has been very much appreciated by patients – many of whom simply wish to blend back into society without others noticing their amputation.
Advanced design
Touch Bionics is the first company to offer commercial availability of a true bionic upper-limb product. Both the i-LIMB Hand and ProDigits have been fitted to many different patients at a number of leading prosthetic and orthopedic clinics in both the U.S. and U.K.
The modular construction of the i-LIMB Hand means that each individually powered finger can be quickly removed by simply removing one screw. This means that a prosthetist can easily swap out fingers that require servicing and patients can return to their everyday lives after a short clinic visit. Traditional devices would have to be returned to the manufacturer, often leaving the patient without a hand for many weeks.
Controlling bionic devices
The i-LIMB Hand relies on some of the most advanced control software yet seen in the prosthetics industry. This software provides speed and grip-strength control to the device while patients generate signals to control the device in a way that does not differ from how traditional devices operated in the past. Two small metal electrode plates, which detect the minute electrical signals generated by the remaining muscles in the limb stump, are placed against the skin to pick up signals. Traditionally one electrode is placed on the top of the forearm and the other on the bottom.
Patients usually have a sensation that their hand still exists despite it being amputated, something often referred to as ‘phantom’ feelings. When encouraged to generate a strong signal, the patient is often asked to move and flex their missing hand to generate a strong control signal. Before too long, these reflexes become intuitive.
Feedback from early patient studies identified that software adjustments can allow patients to perform simple tasks and improve functionality. An example of this is thumb parking, instructing the thumb to close down against the side of the hand to allow a jacket to be out on. Another is a completely new grip function for prosthetic hands, the index point, whereby the hand grasps into a fist whilst leaving the index finger extended. Patients have found this very useful for operating computer keyboards, telephone dial pads, ATM cash machines and a host of other everyday requirements.
Advances in cosmesis
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. The Touch Bionics products are the first prosthetic hands to imitate the true movement and lifelike accuracy of a human hand. The challenge has been to find materials that can move and flex in the same way that human skin does.
This has been addressed in two ways, in order to support two distinct patient preferences.
Some patients, mainly military personnel, particularly love the robotic nature of the uncovered i-LIMB Hand and prefer not to wear it with a cosmesis glove. However, because of the need to provide a grip surface and to protect the hand from dust and water, Touch Bionics has developed the i-LIMB Skin. This is a thin layer of semi-transparent material that has been computer-modeled to accurately wrap to every contour of the hand.
Other patients wish their device to blend anatomically with the rest of their body, and have a life-like covering for the i-LIMB Hand and ProDigits. As these products are more anatomically correct than any currently on the market, which not only allows for increased functionality but also a vastly improved cosmetic appearance, the challenge has been to find a high-definition cosmesis of superior quality. Touch Bionics is launching with custom cosmesis products from two of its cosmesis partner companies.
Corporate Backgrounder
The history of Touch Bionics goes back to a program of work conducted at the Princess Margaret Rose Hospital in Edinburgh from 1963, starting with comprehensive research into developing prosthetic solutions for children affected by Thalidomide.
In 1988, work began in earnest on electronic arms, including shoulders, wrists and hands. In 1993, a partial hand system received international publicity and in 1998, major international profile was achieved through the fitting of the world’s first electrically powered shoulder.
In early 2003, the company was spun out from the National Health System, with significant shareholding held by Scottish Health Innovations Ltd., and became the first SHIL spin-out to receive significant funding. An initial SMART award from Scottish Enterprise got the company going, and it has now received investment funding from existing and new investors, including Archangel Informal Investments and the Scottish Co-investment Fund.
The company was initially called Touch EMAS, EMAS standing for Edinburgh Modular Arm System. In 2005 it was re-branded Touch Bionics to communicate the dynamism of the company’s products and the future focus of its technology.
Touch Bionics is launching two key products, the i-LIMB Hand and ProDigits. The hand is the world’s first commercially available multi-articulating bionic hand. It has five independently powered digits that open and close around objects. It supports amputees in going about their everyday lives. In medicine, bionics means the replacement or enhancement of organs or other body parts by mechanical means.
ProDigits, short for Prosthetic Digits, are the self-contained fingers that are individually powered and controlled to provide new fingers for partial hand patients. The i-LIMB Hand is effectively a chassis for five ProDigits. Individual ProDigits are used for patients who have lost part of their hand or a whole finger or fingers.
Stuart Mead, Chief Executive of Touch Bionics, said, “It has been a long journey for our technology and I’m very glad to say that we have successfully transitioned from a research-and-development company to one that is now shipping and supporting product globally. Our two launch products have been extremely well received by both patients and health professionals. Our success shows that it is possible to successfully transfer IP from the NHS whilst ensuring that its commercial interest is retained.”
SHIL Chairman Peter Shakeshaft said, “We are delighted that this world-breaking technology which emanated from NHS Scotland has reached this important milestone of commercial acceptance. Touch Bionics was our first spin-out company and it is pleasing to have been able to support the technology phase and for NHS Scotland and David Gow, the inventor, to benefit from such an important global invention. Such support is the very essence of SHIL’s existence and this early success confirms the rationale behind the decision to create SHIL.”
Archangels CEO John Waddell said, “We are very pleased to provide backing to Touch Bionics. The company has made significant progress in developing its products through engagement with its potential markets, particularly in the U.S.”
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Release link: http://www.touchbionics.com
