See the video
The world's most advanced, commercially available, bionic hand has clinched the UK's top engineering prize.
The i-LIMB, a prosthetic device with five individually powered digits, beat three other finalists to win this year's MacRobert award.
The technology has been fitted to more than 200 people, including US soldiers who lost limbs during the war in Iraq.
The device started life in Scotland in 1963 as part of a project to help children affected by Thalidomide.
The complex device finally went on sale in July 2007. It is produced by a company called Touch Bionics based in Mid Calder, Livingston.
See how the hand works
"It's such a fantastic invention," Ray Edwards, a quadruple amputee and one of the first people in the UK to be fitted with the device, told BBC News.
"When the arm was put on, I had tears rolling down my face. It was the first time in 21 years that I had seen a hand open.
"I can do a thumbs-up, I can hold a pen and I can do many things that I couldn't do before."
See how it works
No comments:
Post a Comment