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Newcastle at the forefront of new wave in bionic hand technology

Biomedical engineers at Newcastle University are pioneering trials of new bionic technology which could revolutionise the effectiveness of prosthetic limbs.

Trialling a bionic hand, which will allow a wearer to reach for things automatically without thinking, the university’s biomedical engineers are at the forefront of a new generation in prosthetic advancement.

Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the hand is fitted with a camera which instantaneously takes a picture of the object in front of it, assesses its shape and size and triggers a series of movements in the hand.

Bypassing usual processes which require the user to see the object, physically stimulate the muscles in the arm and trigger a movement in the prosthetic limb, the hand ‘sees’ and reacts in one fluid movement.

A small number of amputees have already trialled the new technology and now the Newcastle University team are working with experts at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to offer the ‘hands with eyes’ to patients at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital.

Dr Kianoush Nazarpour, a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering at Newcastle University, explained: “Prosthetic limbs have changed very little in the past 100 years – the design is much better and the materials’ are lighter weight and more durable but they still work in the same way.

“Using computer vision, we have developed a bionic hand which can respond automatically – in fact, just like a real hand, the user can reach out and pick up a cup or a biscuit with nothing more than a quick glance in the right direction.

“Responsiveness has been one of the main barriers to artificial limbs. For many amputees the reference point is their healthy arm or leg so prosthetics seem slow and cumbersome in comparison.

“Now, for the first time in a century, we have developed an ‘intuitive’ hand that can react without thinking.”

Click here to see a YouTube video of the All-seeing hand.