Bionic Prosthetic Hand For The 21st Century

Introduction

I listened to the BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine show on 23^rd June and heard a great article about a young woman who had been given a bionic prosthetic hand. A 21^st century creation. Her name is Nicky Ashwell and here she is in the following video tweet being interviewed by Jeremy Vine who went on to receive this handshake.

Nicky Ashwell With Jeremy Vine

Here's Nicky with the UK's most remarkable bionic hand talking to @theJeremyVine @BBCRadio2 #r2vine pic.twitter.com/c8lZdNPrvi

— Tim Johns (@timoncheese) June 23, 2015

More About The Bionic Prosthetic Hand

In the featured image, taken by Alex Lentati (@alexlentati), Nicky can be seen delicately handling a flower with her hand.

Below is a video of her making more use of it – to thread a needle:

In the BBC interview video below you you can see Nicky tie a shoelace:

I have found another article about Nicky and her ‘bebionic’ hand at New Atlas (Previously known as Gizmag).

Below you can see a video demonstrating the various grips this hand, originally made by The Steeper Group but now owned by Ottobock US, can perform.

How Does A Bionic Prosthetic Hand Work

Bionic Prosthetic Hands also have an attached forearm which is usually attached to a person’s arm at the elbow. Inside that forearm there are electronic sensors which touch the skin near to the elbow joint. These sensors pick up electrical signals sent by the brain to control the missing muscles.

The program in the bionic arm interprets those signals and moves the bionic arm just like a real arm.

More details about an alternative arm called a “Hero Arm” are available here at openbionics.com. Some users of these arms clai to be able to control them within ten minutes of putting them on.

Links To Similar Posts Within This Blog

• Here is a link to another scientific post on superconductors.
• Here is a link to a post about a robot conducting chemical evolution experiments.