Bionic Fingers give Ability to Grip
Dec 9th, 2009 | By Gene A. Wright | Category: General, Innovation, TechnologyThanks Shawn
From Wired
Bionic Finger Article and Video
This is an amazing technology.
From the article ” ProDigits, as the device is called, can help its users bend, touch, pick up and point — reflecting almost all the key functions of a natural hand. The prosthetic fingers are for those who have a partial hand, where the absence of fingers is due either to congenital anomalies or to amputation, says Touch Bionics.”
What do you think? What is next?
This is amazing technology that is in its infancy. Today we are using this technology to replace limbs that are damaged or totally gone. In the future, will we be replacing limbs to make us stronger, faster, see farther, or hear better? I wonder how the lines will be blurred in the future between human and machine, computer and brain; it’s interesting and scary to think of the possibilities.
I think that is a great invention. I knew someone who had no fingers from congenital anomalies and it seemed harder to do most things without the use of all of her fingers. It’s great that it’s non-invasive, can be taken off easily and can sense the neurons to do what a hand does. This is great for those people who have to amputate limbs for whatever reason and still be able to have a normal life and do things in the ‘normal’ way.
I don’t know what could come next because they already have inventions for bionic eyes for the blind and various other inventions designed to help those who are otherwise considered handicap.
What a great product! Once again, with the help of technology, anything is possible. The hand looks amazing too, almost life like. The only real downside to such a great product is the price tag. Like many great things, it comes with a huge price tag that may not allow everyone to receive this product.
So what’s new? With the technology understood, anything is possible. It could be a foot, a full arm; maybe we can even get to the point of making a heart. Again, all this is great, but with such great advances come a price tag that some may not be able to afford.
Although this technology is amazing, it is so expensive that most people who may need it might not be able to afford it. Like anything, if there is more demand the price will eventually go down. Besides the major downside, those who can afford it, it will definitely change their life. As I sit here and type this, I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be to not have part or all of my hand, what a relief and excitement it must be for these people. It just prooves how much the advancement of technology can really better peoples lives.
This is a great use of technology putting many specialties together to help someone who has lost fingers. The power of invention is exciting. What is next in the areas of robotics, medical prostheses, and sensory materials? I think there will be more advances in artificial skin that will be added to these products.
This new technology is something else! Of course, like any new technology, the price tag will be high at first. However, over time the price will become more reasonable for people to purchase. I can’t wait to see what is next!
funny that just last night my son asked me about the possibility of people getting a replacement foot, leg or eye that could be actually integrated into the body, including nerve connectivity so that the brain can direct the component. I told him that some day this should be possible…..
This is pretty impressive. I wonder if they have different sized bionics for different individuals? They had talked about the different configurations they have for the different possibilities of impairment, but I wonder if they have different sized hands for different body tytpes.
I think that this is a great invention that will definitely create many benefits for a lot of people. With new technology coming out every month or even every day, there are so many opportunities for advancement to help to increase the lives of so many people. Unfortunately, the price of this new technology can be quite costly. I think that within the next few years researchers will come out with devices that will be inside the body such as organs or necessary tissues to heal or improve the body’s condition. I can’t wait to see what will be next!
This is fantastic! I love the idea of using technology to replace a dysfunctional limb. It creates a quality of life for some that would never have known some of the things that most of us take for granted. It is not a stretch for this technology to go down the path of repairing nerves and then spinal cords. I look forward to the day when we can see a paraplegic regain the use of their legs!
This is absolutely incredible. Articles like this give me hope that the medical feel is advancing at a rate it should be with all of the technological advances here and on the horizon. Technology should be used and created to benefit and increase the daily lives of everyone. This is something that gets me excited about the future of medicine and technology. I hope that in my life time we can give people back something they have lost or something that was taken from them. I hope that in my life time we will see people walk and see all over again or even for the first time. That is where I hope this is all going.
Articles like this give me hope that the medical feel is advancing at a rate it should be with all of the technological advances here and on the horizon. Technology should be used and created to benefit and increase the daily lives of everyone. This is something that gets me excited about the future of medicine and technology. I hope that in my life time we can give people back something they have lost or something that was taken from them. I hope that in my life time we will see people walk and see all over again or even for the first time. That is where I hope this is all going.
Wow! This is very impressive and exciting. My grandpa had to have his leg amputated many years ago and since its been so hard seeing him not be able to do so much with us. Because of his age he probably would never have gone for a bionic leg but in the future this is ideal for many people in similar situations and will open up so many opportunities for people. Very exciting.
All I can say is, “WOW!!!!!!” This is absolutely AMAZING! I can only imagine what they have next, maybe prosthetics that can send signals to the brain in response to touch, texture, and heat! This is very innovative and a true blessing to those in dire need of this type of technology! I’m amazed!
Technology at its finest. This is a great new product and is going to help thousands of people. Eventually I feel like people are not even going to be able to tell that people have prosthetics because the technology is getting so good.
Definitely the right direction. It does really make you wonder though, what if someone lost both of their legs and their arms? Essentially they would be almost half machine, that is absolutely mind blowing, maybe Iron Man isn’t so far off? I wouldn’t put it past people to actually chop a limb off at will in order to get technology like this when it improves enough that it is better than actual limbs.
If limbs get replaced with bionic replacements, will those who possess then eventually not be allowed to participate in the special olympics? Or will there be a bionic Olympics that combine athletic skill and technology. That would be very Borg-like (of course, Borgs were not very fast…). Hopefully our collective will also consider speed when digitizing the combined human species…
This is a really cool device. I think we will see a major role in technology taking over things in the medical field. I think many new deivces such as these will come out and make things more efficient. I think next is being able to smell through a phone!
The power and innovation of the human mind once again shows it the most powerful part of the body. It is coming up with ways to come up with the loss of other parts. What a wonderful way to improve the quality of life for those that have lost limbs or digits. I can only gues where this technology will lead.
This is a brilliant technology. This is just one example of how technology is advancing the field of medicine faster and further now compared to ten years ago. It is nice to know that people are actually working to make peoples lives more bearable and more enjoyable. Eventually technology and medicine will go past our most wildest imagination.
This is fantastic. It will help improve the quality of life for many. While the current edition does not have the capability to move the fingers independently, the next generation can’t be far away. The foundation on which this is enabled, the ability to read electronic impulses in our muscles to trigger to the bionics means we are likely close to having functional devices that are able to read impulses from the brain to help those with spinal cord damage.
This is really a good thing to see, especially in a time like now when we have so many soldiers going over seas and suffering injuries where they may lose one of their limbs. This type of technology can at least bring some sense of normalcy to them. I also agree with some of the other comments where people mentioned that they hope that with advancements like these in the medical field, also means that there are many other advancements being made.
I definitely agree with Alfred’s post. This kind of technology, although financially expensive, is a huge boost in the right direction for patients needing this. Bionics allow people to re-establish basic motor functions that most people can take for granted. One thing that is on my mind is; what’s next? We’ve seen this type of technology grow and grow over the years, so what is the next step? What will be the next break through?
this is really a neat concept. it is interesting though, that it must become more widely available which will drive down the cost of the technology. This is imperative for it truly to become useful for the masses.
I can only see this technology as a blessing for individuals who suffer from the loss of a limb. If they can provide even a small measure of normalcy, via these bionic devices, then I think it is a huge advance. What is next? Who knows, possibly technology which will be closer and closer to the real thing.
This is great news but I can’t believe its taken so long for this technology to come out. Thousands of handicapped people struggle to perform routine activities daily and hopefully this can bring relief to some.
This is astounding. Anything that can help people regain a normal life in what almost certainly is a life changing and horrible situation.
An innovation like this is really incredible. It is going to be critical for insurance companies to incorporate these kinds of devices into their insurance plans rather than considering it as an elective thing or funding only the poorer quality prostheitics.
My brother was born with only one hand, and for years my parents tried in vain to find solutions that he would be comfortable with. While this bionic hand would probably give him the ability to use his left hand, which he hasn’t had the use of for his 29 years, I’m not sure if he’d consider the option. He’s so well adapted with his handicap, I don’t think that this would help. But, I could see it being very useful for those patients that have lost limbs in accidents, war, disease, etc.
About 6 years ago I gave a presentation, for a class, about research that was being done to use the brain waves of a monkey to control robotic arms. Here is an article that talks a little bit about it:
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2000/monkeys-1206.html
I remember seeing similar devices in earlier stages of advancement, but this product seems very refined and will surely help many people get critical parts of their lives back. I am sure technology will improve and cost will eventually come down, but I can see many people paying a pretty high price to have lost functionality back. It will be interesting to see how insurance companies come in to play once these devices become more popular.
Wow this is going to make a lot of people’s lives much easier and fulfilling! Maybe someday the technology will be so advanced that just thinking about moving the prosthetic hand will make it move. I’m still a little confused on how the technology works. It’s very interesting that it can pick up on small muscle movements around the hand and know that the person wearing it wants the fingers to move.
What’s not to like about this advancement? The more we advance the more technology supplements our lifestyles in every way. This is a step in the right direction for those who have missing hands; hands being almost as essential to most of us as our eyes. Very cool tech, and I hope this company continues to develop devices that help those less fortunate than most of us.
This reminds me of the book “Bicentennial Man” only in reverse. Its truly amazing how we can replace our failing limbs, organs, joints etc, with mechanical/robotic devices. Artificial hearts and lungs were just the beginning. These bionic fingers can only lead to more complicated body processes, who knows, maybe eventually the brain. (Doubtful though)
I think that the use just for replacement limbs is just the begining. I remember articles from popular mechanics that cover full augmentation suits that could be used in industry, the trades, or even the military. But I think that the most amazing part of technology going down this path is that it will give devices and computers new ways to communicate with us. Just yesterday I saw an article about synthetic muscles that are going to be used in displays to provide tactile feedback to the user. It touches you back I guess.
This bionic hand is just scratching the surface of prosthetic technology. More and more research on human brain waves is allowing compatibility of mechanical connections such as the bionic hand. These hands will become more advanced until a complete real human finger or hand is able to be connected and “brought to life”.
This is undoubtedly a great invention and brings hope to a lot of people with this kind of disability. But the question remains that how many people will be able to take advantage of it? This comes at a very expensive price and majority of the people will not be able to use it until the inventors also find ways to bring down the price to an affordable level.
This technology is amazing. I had the opportunity to be part of the Disabled American Veteran’s Winter Clinic at Snowmass, CO. I met men and woman that lost limbs fighting for our country and this type of technology allows them to be back to ‘normal’ and gives back some freedom, not to be confused with the freedom they gave us. I met a man that had prostetic arms and legs. He could walk and move and snowboard! It would be cool to be part of creating this kind of stuff, so rewarding.
ProDigits is a fine invention that will bring joy to the lives of many. From a futuristic perspective, I would think that integrating cutting edge communication technologies within the prosthetic device will enable clinicians to remotely monitor device performance and allow the patients to efficiently control movements with precision.
Awesome design! I had watched a televison segment about 6 months ago which showed scientists/engineers designing prosthetic limbs for Disabled Veterans, and the scientists said the next step is to interface the brain with the prosthetic arm or leg for movement. The Best is yet to come!
I absolutely loved watching the video and seeing the faces of the patients who now can use their hand in ways that they never thought possible. What a great experience for them. The use of resources in producing life-changing items such as this is what makes me believe that the world is still full of people who want to use their resources to help others.