Woman's Experimental Bionic Hand Passes Major Test 33
Ed Cara reports via Gizmodo: Scientists appear to have developed a hand prosthetic that provides much more control and comfort than those available today. In new research this week, they've detailed the case of a Swedish woman who has successfully worn the advanced bionic limb for years with no major issues, while experiencing significantly less pain than before. The woman, identified as Karin, suffered a farming injury that took much of her right arm below the elbow over 20 years ago. Like many amputees, Karin went on to develop phantom limb pain, which required her to take high doses of medication to manage. She also benefited little from conventional prosthetics, finding them too unwieldy to use for daily life. But several years ago, Karin became one of the first patients enrolled in the DeTOP project, an expansive research study funded by the European Union and involving dozens of scientists across Europe that's looking to develop the next generation of bionic limbs.
Karin's prosthesis was created by the Italian company Presilia and is nicknamed Mia Hand. It's outfitted with state-of-art technology, including AI. And to further improve its functionality, her surgeons performed osseointegration during the attachment procedure, a process that directly fuses bone to the implant, ideally creating a stronger mechanical connection. They also implanted electrodes in her arm muscles and nerves, as well as rewired some of her nerves in the remaining part of the arm. The result is a robotic limb that's directly connected to Karin's neuromusculoskeletal system.
Much like a real flesh-and-blood hand, it's controlled by Karin's nervous system and provides sensory feedback. Her new hand can purportedly perform around 80% of the typical daily tasks that a regular limb would be able to do. And it's substantially reduced her phantom limb pain and the need for medication. The team's findings on Mia Hand's initial success are published in the journal Science Robotics. Karin is one of three patients enrolled in the DeTOP project. And while it may take time for the research on these patients to reach completion, the hope is that these prosthetics can eventually become the new standard for upper limb amputees. For Karin, it's already been a tremendous gift.
Karin's prosthesis was created by the Italian company Presilia and is nicknamed Mia Hand. It's outfitted with state-of-art technology, including AI. And to further improve its functionality, her surgeons performed osseointegration during the attachment procedure, a process that directly fuses bone to the implant, ideally creating a stronger mechanical connection. They also implanted electrodes in her arm muscles and nerves, as well as rewired some of her nerves in the remaining part of the arm. The result is a robotic limb that's directly connected to Karin's neuromusculoskeletal system.
Much like a real flesh-and-blood hand, it's controlled by Karin's nervous system and provides sensory feedback. Her new hand can purportedly perform around 80% of the typical daily tasks that a regular limb would be able to do. And it's substantially reduced her phantom limb pain and the need for medication. The team's findings on Mia Hand's initial success are published in the journal Science Robotics. Karin is one of three patients enrolled in the DeTOP project. And while it may take time for the research on these patients to reach completion, the hope is that these prosthetics can eventually become the new standard for upper limb amputees. For Karin, it's already been a tremendous gift.
Let's give her a hand (Score:2, Funny)
Ladies and gentlemen, here's Karin. Let's give her a big hand!
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Whew...she was VERY easy on the eyes back in the day.
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Prensilla hand prosthesis (Score:5, Informative)
Here's a different patient with the same type of prosthetic hand showing the dexterity and types of tasks it can do https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Re: Prensilla hand prosthesis (Score:2)
Very interesting! One question I had from that video was why they were pressing the button with the side of the prosthetic instead of pressing with their fingers. Is that easier?
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Yeah probably easier especially given the lack of wrist movement.
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Watch again! He gets noticeably better with the hand as the video goes on. The button is one example. He starts out just mashing the side of the prosthetic against the button, but by halfway through he is using the thumb or the forefinger to hit the button. The level of fine motor control is really amazing!
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It is awesome!
Did you notice his left hand fingers opening and closing in time with the prosthetic? Almost like the prosthetic is responding to nerves in his other arm.
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It appears that the fingers and thumb have no articulation. That is, othe
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Not sure, but it's good there's competition to to keep advancing this stuff until we have a hand that has all the possible articulation and flexibility of a human hand. And maybe then we can imagine hand/finger configurations with more capabilities than what humans currently have.
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Whew..yeah, think of the handjobs she could give with proper movement!!!
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It's interesting. The video makes clear that there's a long way to go though. While there does seem to be some control over how much pressure they apply with the hand, around 2:00 it's clear with the juice box that the user does not have fine control over it. I didn't see anything suggesting fine control over the fingers either, just several different forms of clamping (whole hand, thumb and forefinger). Definitely a step in the right direction, but still only a incremental improvement over a hook hand. Sti
Adjusting for inflation (Score:5, Funny)
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In 2023, $32,455,782.07 is equal to $6 million 1976 dollars [wikipedia.org].
Oh crap, she better not hope it’s held on a 24 bit register because it’s close to overflowing.
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Wouldn't an overflow just mean the company owes her 32 million dollars instead of the other way around?
Hmmmm (Score:3)
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Looking at the prosthesis, why not have it made look more like a real arm. We have the knowhow and technology to not make it look like an attachment where you screw in your hook.
Because while cosmetic appearance does matter, it doesn't matter anything close to as much as having a functional arm. So as this is still expermintal, you work on the 99% major problem (functionality) first and the 1% finishing touches (looks like a natural arm) once that's all finalised.
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My guess is BECAUSE it is still a work in progress. They want to be able to tweak things easier. It is easier to add bells and whistles later when the functional design is solid.
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I've heard a more realistic prosthesis was recently tested by Lauren Bobert...at least that's her newest story.
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Get over it! She is human
Allegedly.
You should be worrying about the REAL bullshit going on in the government.
You mean like the politician that say one thing and do another? I have some news for you, and you're not going to like it.
Soon to come... (Score:2)
"That feels really nice, but your hand's a bit cold."
Does it (Score:2)
Make a graunching noise when it lifts fake plastic rocks?
Hand (Score:3)
Woman's Experimental Bionic Hand Passes Major Test
The joke writes itself!
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You mean she made a sandwich?
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I know what you mean, just trying to interpret it in another way. ;)
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I know it's hard to keep it in your pants but where do you get off using such innuendo? Different strokes I guess.
Well, then (Score:2)
So when do we get the ear?
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Yeh, that's something I could seriously find useful... they are working on it alright.
Re: Well, then (Score:2)