Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Lending a Hand”.
( ambient music, ) [ Narrator ], A team of engineers at MIT and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, have designed a soft lightweight and potentially low cost neuroprosthetic hand that enables a wide range of daily activities such as zipping a suitcase shaking hands and petting a cat.. Their new smart hand is comprised of five fingers made from a soft stretchy material and weighs about half a pound a fraction of the weight of traditional prosthetics.. The fingers are then attached to a 3D printed palm shaped like a human hand., Rather than controlling each finger. Using expensive heavy mounted electrical motors, this smart hand employs a pneumatic system that uses compressed air to inflate the fingers and bend them in specific positions.. Sensors are fitted where the prosthetic attaches to the user’s limb to measure electrical signals generated by motor neurons.
That control muscle.. Then an algorithm decodes, the muscle signals and relates them to common grasp types.. For instance, when an amputee imagines holding a glass of wine, the sensors pick up the residual muscle signals which is then translated into corresponding pressures.. A pump then applies those pressures to inflate each finger and produce the amputee’s intended grasp..
The team is now working to improve its sensing and range of motion which could further their goal of amputees, regaining a form of sensation and real-time control using their lightweight, affordable, inflatable, hand., ( upbeat music, ) ( ambient music ) .