BIONIC HANDS

If you’re familiar with bespoken you will already have seen featured some of the most scientifically advanced bionic prosthetics that have been fitted to amputees. But what if someone deliberately opted to have their human limb of flesh and blood removed so it could be replaced with a superior prosthetic?

Three Austrian men were the first in the world to undergo this procedure. For years they had been severely affected by brachial plexus injuries as a result of car and climbing accidents which caused very poor hand function. All three men would go on to intentionally replace their human limbs with artificial ones.

This innovative leap was developed by Professor Oskar Aszmann, Director of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Restoration of Extremity Function at the Medical University of Vienna, together with engineers from the Department of Neurorehabilitation Engineering of the University Medical Center Goettingen.

Thanks to this new advance it is possible to control a robotic limb with the mind with the help of sensors that respond to electrical impulses from muscles. However, this process is far from simple.

At stage one, the three men had to undergo nine months of cognitive training that enabled them to activate the muscles affected and also to control a virtual hand by electrical signals. After this, they practiced using a hybrid hand, a prosthetic hand attached to a splint-like device fixed to their non-functioning hand.

The last step was decisive and irreversible: the amputation of the impaired hand for replacement with a bionic prosthetic through a muscle and nerve endings transplant.

The results were excellent. Three months after the surgery and following comprehensive rehabilitation, robotic prostheses gave all three recipients substantially better functional movement in their hands, improved quality of life, and lessened pain.

For the first time since their accidents all three men are able to accomplish various activities of daily living such as picking up a ball, pouring water from a jug, using a key, cutting food with a knife, or using two hands to undo buttons.

The first commercial model of a bionic hand was HIMB, in 1997, and created by the firm Touch Bionics. It had a system of sensors to calculate the necessary force to grasp an object.

Since then, the techniques have improved to the point of creating bionic limbs that are capable of almost perfectly imitating the movements of a human leg, enabling the user to walk or stand up perfectly as well as running and dancing.

In relation to this new technique, Professor Simon Kay who carried out the UK's first hand transplant, and Daniel Wilks from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK say, "The present findings are encouraging, because this approach provides additional neural inputs into prosthetic systems that otherwise would not exist. However, the final verdict will depend on long-term outcomes, which should include assessment of in what circumstances and for what proportion of their day patients wear and use their prostheses. Compliance declines with time for all prostheses, and motorised prostheses are heavy, need power, and are often noisy, as well as demanding skilled repair when damaged."

BIONIC HANDS

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