TouchBionics -- Engadget

TouchBionics posts

Fluidhand emerges, i-LIMB hides in shame

by Paul Miller, posted Apr 22nd 2008 at 2:25PM

After launching its world-beating i-LIMB prosthetic hand last year, Touch Bionics is ~~taking things in a different direction with~~ feeling some competition from the "Fluidhand." The new hand uses miniature hydraulics to flex the fingers, and can better interact with objects -- like grasping things with irregular surfaces -- than the five motor i-LIMB. Fludihand is also designed to have a more natural feel than previous prosthetics, and gives feedback to the stump to let the user sense the strength of the grip. Currently Fluidhand is just in the prototype stage, with one patient so far testing both prosthetics against each other in a battle to the death.

Update: Sorry for the confusion, Fluidhand was built by a some researchers in Karlsruhe, Germany, not by Touch Bionics.

Touch Bionics has i-LIMB bionic arm to go with your bionic hand

by Christopher Grant, posted Jan 5th 2008 at 10:52PM

The mad scientists from Touch Bionics are at it again. After delivering their i-LIMB bionic hand last year, they're moving on up the, uh ... body and are announcing their sophomore effort: the i-LIMB bionic arm. Like their bionic hand, the arm is controlled via learned muscle movements picked up by electrodes placed on the user's chest and is covered in a "realistic cosmetic skin." The only real problem with the i-Limb bionic arm isn't so much a problem in our books, as it is an advantage: it's stronger than your old-fashioned human arms. Of course, with that power comes a whole bunch of ethical and safety concerns. Is there an ethical problem with exacting revenge on that arm-breaking arm wrestling arcade game?

Touch Bionics i-LIMB bionic hand

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jul 17th 2007 at 7:43PM

Touch Bionics, a UK-based prothesis developer, announced today that its i-LIMB bionic hand has been made available for use in the United States and Europe. The i-LIMB is one the first widely available prosthetic hands with five individually powered digits, affording its user a surprisingly wide range of motion. Additionally, the i-LIMB uses dynamic touch detection which can sense when a finger has sufficient grip on on object and stop powering, useful in situations such as holding someone's hand, where too much power can cause, er, problems. Using electric signals generated by working muscles to control the hand, the device is much like traditional myoelectric prosthetics (the signals are sent from electrodes placed on the skin). Touch Bionics has also developed a "groundbreaking" form of cosmesis, a latex sheath which covers the hand that TB claims gives an incredibly realistic appearance. Check the gallery to see for yourself.

[Thanks, Matt]