Touch Bionics announced Tuesday what it calls the world's first commercially available bionic hand, a prosthetic hand that moves more naturally than traditional prostheses and can hold awkward or delicate objects. While most prostheses today can open and close, allowing people to grasp some items, they lack the detailed movements of a natural hand. The i-Limb Hand gets one step closer to that natural movement, with motors in each finger that make it possible to move individual fingers and form several different grips.
The Edinburgh, Scotland-based company also announced partial hand prostheses, called ProDigits. ProDigits can replace individual fingers or parts of a hand.
26-year-old Lindsay Block was born without a left hand and has used a prosthetic limb since she was six months old. Here, she cuts an apple with the help of her Touch Bionics i-Limb Hand.
Caption text by Jennifer Guevin
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