An advanced 'bionic hand' has been created by a company in Scotland, the first of which has been fitted to a patient who lost a hand in an accident many years ago.
The five fingers on the next-generation i-Limb hand are individually powered by separate motors. This allows a better grip and a more realistic look and feel than is provided by standard prosthetic hands using the thumb and two fingers to produce a simple claw grip.
The first recipient, Donald MacKillop, lost his right hand in an industrial accident 30 years ago. Since then he has tried a succession of artificial hands, but none has impressed him as much as the i-Limb unit.
MacKillop is now able to pick up a glass with his right hand for the first time in decades. He said: "It's unbelievable.  It is so similar to fingers, you can do anything with it.  The fact that the fingers can wrap around things makes life much, much easier." Up to now,  bionic hands have not matched the dexterity of muscle and bone, but MacKillop said that at last he felt he had two hands again.
Developed by a Scottish company, Touch Bionics, the hand is now being tested at the national centre for prosthetics and orthotics at Strathclyde University in Glasgow.  There,  prosthetics expert William Dykes said the design was a leap forward in technology and should get even better in a few years. "In the future, we will have better control systems so that we will be able to have individual control of the fingers," he predicted. "That will mean fingers can be moved at will."
The i-Limb hand's five individually powered digits grip around objects and then lock when sufficient grip force has been applied - just like a real hand.
The excessive tip-force grip of more traditional devices is no longer required to maintain sufficient grip on heavier or more difficult-shaped objects.
For further details about the bionic hand, contact nicola.holt@touchbionics.com or visit www.touchbionics.com