Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 10-38
The i-Limb hand in
action. (a) Index
point configuration.
(b) Power grip
configuration.
(Courtesy of
www.touchbionics.
com, with
permission.)
FIGURE 10-39
The i-Limb hand
cosmesis makes it
difficult to see which
is the real hand and
which is the
prosthesis.
(Courtesy of
www.touchbionics.com,
with permission.)
Touch Bionics was founded in 1963 at the Princess Margaret Rose Hospital in Ed-
inburgh. Original research was conducted with children with limbs damaged by Thalido-
mide. By the 1990s, the partial hand system started to receive international recognition,
and Touch EMAS (Edinburgh Modular Arm System) was then established. The name was
soon changed to Touch Bionics (Kurmala, 2007).
10.9.2.7 Fluidhand
The prototype Fluidhand from Karlsruhe, shown in Figure 10-40, being tested at the
Orthopedic University Hospital in Heidelberg, uses hydraulics to drive individual fingers
and the thumb. The new hand can close around objects, even those with irregular surfaces.
A large contact surface and soft, passive form elements greatly reduce the gripping power
required to hold objects. The hand also feels softer, more elastic, and more natural than
conventional hard prosthetic devices.
The flexible drives are located directly in the movable finger joints and operate on the
biological principle of the spider leg. To flex the joints, elastic chambers are pumped up
by miniature hydraulics. In this way, index finger, middle finger, and thumb can be moved
