On sale for £8,500: bionic hand that mimics real thing

A bionic hand that is claimed to be the world's most sophisticated prosthetic device for gripping and manipulating objects went on sale yesterday after years of research and development by its British inventors.

The robotic hand is controlled by tiny muscle movements in the forearm of a patient. The patient can move all five digits of the hand independently of one another to mimic the varied movements of a real human hand.

One British man and 13 others in the United States have already been fitted with the device as part of a series of clinical trials but from today it is possible for private individuals or the NHS to buy them off the shelf for about £8,500 each.

David Gow, the inventor of the bionic hand and director of rehabilitation engineering services at NHS Lothian in Scotland, said that the device leads the world. "It's the first hand to come to the market that's had bending fingers just like your own hand," he said.

Small electrodes taped to the skin of the forearm transmit signals to the tiny electric motors that power the movements of the hand, which is covered in a skin-like material.

A Scottish company, Touch Bionics, was set up to develop the device using intellectual property owned by the NHS. Much of the subsequent clinical work was carried out in the US, often on war veterans who had lost their hands in combat.

The only British person who has been fitted with the bionic hand is Donald McKillop, a retired welder from Kilmarnock who was given the device in 2006, nearly 30 years after he lost his hand in an industrial accident.

"The most important thing is the movement of the fingers... It's truly incredible to see the fingers moving and gripping around the objects that I haven't been able to pick up before," Mr McKillop said. "The hand does feel like a real replacement for my missing hand."

One of the key inventive steps was the development of a rotating thumb which can be manipulated to form different types of grips. For instance, to grip objects between the thumb and forefinger - the so-called "key" grip - the patient can press the thumb against the side of the index finger, much like the way a real hand is used to turn a key in a lock.

The developers have also enabled the hand to grip objects with more precision using the tips of the index finger and thumb, or to point the index finger in a way that allows someone to dial a keypad or use a computer keyboard.

Stuart Mead, the chief executive of Touch Bionics, said: "We have always existed to change the lives of patients with severe injuries and disabilities, and it is thrilling to feel that we are able to accomplish that goal."

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