bebionic Advanced Hand Prosthesis Finally Unveiled [Steve Austin]

The bebionic fully articulating myo-electric prosthetic hand from RSLSteeper (Kent, UK) has been officially launched at the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics World Congress Meeting and Orthopädie + Reha-Technik Trade Show in Leipzig, Germany. The hand can be used with a wrist unit that provides powered rotation and flexion/extension, and when ordering you'll be able to select the tone of the silicone skin wrapped around the mechanical part and even the shape of the nails.

Featuring individual motors for each digit the hand moves and grips in a natural and coordinated way, providing compliant and conformable grips around complex shapes. On board microprocessors constantly monitor the positions of the fingers so that grip sequences are accurate every time. The hand electronics sense if a gripped item is slipping and automatically tightens the grip to maintain a secure and safe hold.

The hand has two user selectable thumb positions; opposed or non-opposed, with an in-built sensor detecting the position. The non-opposed position controls key grip and finger point whilst the opposed position controls tripod and power grip.


Designed with robust assembly providing impact resistance, the fingers also feature spring returns so that the fingers move naturally when passively flexed such as brushing past someone on the street.



Press release: bebionic Launches at Leipzig May 2010 ...

Flashbacks: A Preview of BeBionic Artificial Hand

[Medgadget]

Bionic eye could be restoring sight as early as 2013 [Bionic Eye]

After over a decade of work, a group of researchers at Bionic Vision Australia have created a prototype of a surgically inserted eye implant that could see real-world applications in as little as three years.

To call it a 'bionic eye' really only addresses part of it, as the entire setup involves the implant, a pair of glasses with a camera, and a tiny processor you keep in your pocket. The camera feeds footage to the processor, which interprets the sensory information and then wirelessly sends images to the eye implant, which in turn stimulates the neurons of the retina to translate that visual data and encourage your brain to create images from it.

The Australian government has invested nearly million in the technology, and the country's prime minister, Kevin Rudd, hails it as 'one of the most important medical advances we see in our lifetime,' commenting that it 'has the potential to restore sight to thousands of people in Australia and across the world.'

It won't offer perfect vision, though it will allow those who have lost their vision to see images recreated from light. Bionic Vision Australia released a video to show what this might look like when showing off an earlier prototype of its technology (pictured above). Check it all out below.



[DVICE via Bionic Vision Australia via PhysOrg]

Artificial Foot Recycles Energy With Every Step [Bionic]

Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a prosthesis that makes walking much easier on amputees than current options. The trick: an artificial foot that recycles the kinetic energy generated by walking.

The device works by mimicking the natural push-off of a human ankle, using a microprocessor to control the device and capture the energy normally dissipated by the leg:

In tests on subjects walking with an artificially-impaired ankle, a conventional prosthesis reduced ankle push-off work and increased net metabolic energy expenditure by 23% compared to normal walking. Energy recycling restored ankle push-off to normal and reduced the net metabolic energy penalty to 14%.

That means less cumbersome dragging of an artificial limb and a more natural walking sensation. It also only requires a small battery to operate, running off of less than one watt of power.

It's just a prototype for now, but assuming the current round of testing goes well, there's no reason not to expect a commercial application in the not too distant future.
[Gizmodo via PLoS ONE via Inhabitat]