Prosthetics

A $20 prosthetic knee to bring relief to disadvantaged amputees

By David Greig

17:30 April 22, 2009 PDT

An artificial knee costing just USD$20 promises to deliver much needed help to amputees who are disadvantaged or impoverished – particularly when the price of high-end titanium knee joints can range anywhere from USD$10,000 to USD$100,000. The artificial knee, dubbed the JaipurKnee, was developed by Joel Sadler, a lecturer in mechanical engineering and d'Arbeloff Fellow, and his team at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University. Read More

Electrical rubber could be used as synthetic skin for robots

By Kyle Sherer

09:07 August 20, 2008 PDT

Scientists at the University of Tokyo have created a material with the texture and flexibility of rubber, but possessing more than 570 times the electrical conductivity. Made by grinding carbon nanotubes with an ionic liquid and adding it to rubber, the material could be used to make intelligent steering wheels and mattresses, stretchable television displays, or sensitive e-skin for robots. Read More

New funds for development of high tech prosthetic limb

By Emily Clark

23:14 February 21, 2008 PST

A team led by the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at Johns Hopkins University has received a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to complete development of a prosthetic arm that will look, feel and perform like a natural limb. Read More

i-LIMB bionic hand approaches 100 fittings

By Emily Clark

20:53 January 29, 2008 PST

January 30, 2008 Touch Bionics has announced that its i-LIMB - the world’s first commercially available bionic hand - is expected to achieve the milestone of 100 patient fittings by the end of February this year, having already reached more than 70 people worldwide since its July 2007 launch. Read More

CPU-controlled artificial leg offers new freedom of natural movement for amputees

By Loz Blain

July 27, 2007 Prosthetics is a fascinating field – science’s ability to mimic the complicated natural function of lost limbs can make a truly life-altering difference for amputees. Nowhere is this difference more strongly felt than in the field of artificial legs that get amputees out of wheelchairs, off crutches and back to a level of mobility that lets them blend back in into ordinary life. The latest drive towards the development of advanced prosthetics includes this new microchip-controlled artificial knee joint that’s opening up an unprecedented level of freedom of movement for above-knee amputees and allowing amputee servicemen to remain active in their jobs if they so choose. The US$30K hydraulic C-LEG’s CPU “brain” automatically adapts to changes of speed and direction, and can be pre-programmed into up to 10 switchable “modes” to enable natural driving, cycling and other programmable activities that require different leg actions to normal walking and stair climbing. Read More