This British kid was involved in an accident whereby he was “degloved” — a polite way of saying his hand was torn off. Luckily, the damage was of a type that enabled a bionic arm to be fitted, and now he’s one of the first in the UK to have a muscle-enervated mechanical prosthesis… installed (there’s no other word for it).
The i-Limb, as it’s so unimaginatively called, is made by Scottish company Touch Bionics, and costs about $50,000, which as medical treatments go is really not very expensive. Each of the fingers has an independent motor and is controlled by muscle tension. Not the sci-fi solution everybody wants, but this is about what works.
The arm is still not quite in production; Evan is using a prototype and doubtless it will be improved by his QAing it. It’s good to know, though, that this kind of technology is becoming better and more easily accessible.
[via HardOCP]
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