Bebionic is available this month for $11000.

RSLSteeper, creator of the Bebionic artificial hand, has just announced that the hand will be offered at a price of $11,000 (€9000) around the world. Amputees control the prosthetic limb using my-oelectric sensors that read signals on the surface of the skin from residual muscle. To the outside observer it looks like you are moving the hand with your thoughts. This advanced system typically allows you to start using the new limb immediately and get comfortable with it in a few days. While Bebionic is not the only myo-electric hand on the market, it does seem to be the least expensive. That may lead to many amputees choosing to adopt it when it goes on sale later this month. Check out the video below of the launch of Bebionic during the ISPO World Congress in May. Watch amputees completely new to the device try it out around 2:40!

RSLSteeper faces fierce competition from TouchBionics, the maker of the i-Limb Hand, which has been on the market for a few years, and comes with removable digits. As I mentioned when I first reviewed the Bebionic hand in February, the i-Limb is a very similar device, and both have the same four major grips that users can switch between (key, precision, pointer, power). Touch Bionics may have stepped out ahead last month with the release of the i-Limb Pulse, a new hand that allows for pulsing grips and a few other upgrades. However, the Bebionic’s price tag is a powerful advantage, and is about 35% less than i-Limb (~$17k USD at time of writing). Maybe RSLSteeper read the end of my latest article on their device?

We have to remember that most hand amputees still use traditional hook systems that haven’t really changed much since the 40s and that retail for $500 or so. A big reason is that (except for veterans) most amputees can’t get enough money from their insurance agencies to cover expensive prosthetics. $11,000 still isn’t cheap, but it’s a big step in the right direction. Though it would be nice if the fancy synthetic skin covering (available in 19 shades of humanity) was included in that price instead of an additional $600. In any case, major kudos to RSLSteeper for getting a top of the line myo-electric hand closer to fitting in the budget of the average family.

My accolades, however, are notoriously fickle. I would gladly praise Touch Bionics or any other company that can get a myo-electric hand to the market for less than $10k. So keep up the competition, please! Eventually we may see prosthetic hands directly wired into the nervous system, but until we do myo-electrics are still the most advanced systems out there. Not as good as a natural hand, but they come pretty close. Check out the Bebionic in action in the promo video below (apologies for using it for a third time).

*UPDATE: The Bebionic hand will be offered through SPS in the United States, though a USA branch of RSLSteeper will be opening in San Antonion, Texas later this month.

[screen capture and video credit: Bebionic/Mark Hunter]
[source: RSL Steeper press release]

Part biology. Part artificial. All cat.

I don’t think I would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. A veterinarian in Jersey has managed to successfully graft two prosthetic limbs onto a cat that lost both its back paws in a combine thresher. Named Oscar, the 2 year old cat was walking freely only a few hours after receiving its new limbs! The metal pins that attach to the prostheses were surgically embedded in the cat’s residual legs and were specially designed to allow both skin and bone to grow into them. This should prevent infection and long term complications associated with exposed metal pins in living tissues. We have two amazing videos for you, both from the BBC. The first shows Oscar’s first steps after receiving his new limbs, and the second showing him weeks later enjoying a more advanced version of the devices in his home. You’ve got to see this.

Noel Fitzpatrick, the veterinarian who performed Oscar’s surgery, had previous success in attaching prostheses to animals. In fact, he’s the star of a new upcoming BBC pilot for a series called “The Bionic Vet.” The prosthetic limbs were developed in association with researchers at the University College London and have implications for human-used devices. The metal pins embedded in Oscar’s legs are called intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics (Itaps) and are specially shaped (like umbrellas) to allow tissue to grow onto and into them. This shields them against infection. Similar techniques are already under testing for humans and may allow for sturdier and safer human prostheses. For now, it’s unlikely that Oscar’s style of Itaps will be used for other cats as they are expensive: £2000 (~$3000) without the cost of surgery). That means that, for a while, Oscar is likely to be one of kind. Lucky cat.

[image credit: Reuters]
[video credit: BBC News]
[source: BBC News, Reuters]

The BeBionic hand comes close to the real thing. It has four different kinds of grips and a silicone skin.

Judging by the latest promo videos, the BeBionic hand is out to kick more butt than…well, an artificial foot. Full of heavy rock licks, the BeBionic demo shows off the four grips (key, pinch, finger, and power) of its newest prosthetic hand and wrist. The system senses muscle signals on the skin of your residual limb to control its movements, a technique known in the field as myo-electric sensing. To match that life-like motion with a life-like appearance BeBionic also comes with a silicone covering in one of 19 possible shades of human skin and with customized finger nails. Produced by RSL Steeper, the BeBionic hand and wrist are set to debut (with pricing and availability details) in May at the Orthopadie Technik in Leipzig, Germany. You can check them out now in the videos below. Where’s the “rock-on” gesture grip when you need it?

In the following video highlighting BeBioinic’s four grips, notice how the silicone skin looks more life-like at 0:45 than at 1:06. Not sure if this is an artifact of lighting and camera angle.

Prosthetics are a very exciting field for Singularity Hub because they highlight how man and machine can work together in a very physical and personal way. Unfortunately, the BeBionic hand isn’t showing us a lot that is new. Yes, this is the first powered wrist that we’ve seen, and it has an impressive range of motion (135 ° rotation, 35° flexion/extension). The hand itself, however, seems very similar to the i-Limb hand and digits we’ve reviewed before. Myo-electric sensors are certainly cool, but, again, we’ve seen those with Deka and other prosthesis projects. RSL Steeper is including some in-house designed software to let each individual custom their controls via wireless connection to a computer. That’s a nice innovation, but combined with the four grip types I don’t think that will provide a range of control that greatly exceeds the other prostheses on the market.

And I can’t help looking at these hands and wondering if they aren’t all following a dead end. Myo-electrics probably allow for a more intuitive method for control than foot pedals or shoulder flexing. Yet, we’ve already seen projects that hope to directly integrate nerves into the artificial limb. Direct nerve integration also provides the possibility for haptics – having the user feel what the limb feels. Those projects are likely many years from completion, but I think they’re where prostheses will ultimately end up.

Considering costs, availability, and setup requirements (connecting directly to nerves requires surgery), it’s likely that all of these prostheses types will exist on the market simultaneously. Users will have to choose between traditional “hook” hands, pedal/pressure controls, myo-electrics, and nerve integrated limbs depending on their budget, etc. It’s hard to know which will provide the greatest amount of utility per dollar. However, I would think that, all things being equal, those looking to replicate a missing limb would naturally gravitate towards the hands that could actually provide feedback.

Still, it’s much too early to decide which prosthetic hand will win the hearts of its users. Again, a lot probably rests on which insurance providers will cover which prosthetics. What we really need is a side by side comparison of all the different upper body limb replacement systems so that potential customers can see the relative speed, power, and precision of each choice. The good news is that as more companies compete to provide these technologies the costs of these devices may drop down to where they are more affordable to amputees. After all, you can build the coolest prosthetic in the world, but it won’t matter unless people get to use it.

[image and video credit RSL Steeper and BeBionic]

iWalk's PowerFoot One is the world's first actively powered foot and ankle prosthetic.

Someday soon, amputees will have more powerful limbs than those with their natural bodies. iWalk, a prosthetics company formed in 2006, is gearing up to provide the world’s first actively powered foot and ankle this year. Called the PowerFoot One, the prosthetic limb uses springs and a half pound lithium ion battery to provide human-like power. It gives the same push off the ground as a human foot, and can adjust to slopes, walking up and down steps, or hanging casually when you lounge in a chair. The PowerFoot One can even be adjusted using a Bluetooth enabled phone and (according to an interview in Forbes) will soon have an associated iPhone App. Along with lower limb prosthetics from other companies, the PowerFoot One is set to give amputees an ease of movement that’s nearly natural. Give iWalk enough time, and they’re likely to make it better than human.

PowerFoot One is advanced in its sensing as well as its motion. Three on board processors and 12 sensors allow the limb to make around 500 adjustments each second. These measurements are combined with a comprehensive library of known patterns of human foot movements. In effect, the PowerFoot One knows how you’re going to move before you have time to think about it. It’s not quite the artificial intelligence we’ve seen in other lower limb devices, but unlike the Proprio Foot from Ossur, the PowerFoot One is providing enough force to really augment movement, not just adjusting its position to match your gait. It’s very impressive.

The Department of Defense seems to agree. They’re interested in the PowerFoot One as a possible prosthetic for injured soldiers. In fact, a good portion of iWalk’s $10+ million startup capital was funded by the Veteran Administration and the US Army’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC).

But if there is one driving force behind PowerFoot One it’s the limb’s developer and first user, Prof. Hugh Herr of MIT. He’s the head of the University’s Biomechatronics group and a double leg amputee himself. His work has been incorporated into devices for prosthetic’s leader Ossur, and he was one of the founders of iWalk. Herr’s story is very remarkable for its bravery and determination, but it’s his vision for the future that is really impressive. According to Forbes, Herr envisions the upcoming century as one that blurs the boundaries between man and machine. The prostheses for amputees today will become the universally sought after bionic limbs of tomorrow.

Before that happens, however, there’s a small matter of money. The PowerFoot One will cost users an unspecified amount in the low five figures. Similarly enabled lower limb devices we’ve seen before have similar expenses. Upper body bionic prosthetics, which continue to trail lower limb devices, are still experimental and can cost many tens of thousands of dollars. Veterans in the US could see great financial support from the VA for these limbs but most amputees simply won’t have the budget for them. Give that time, though. As with all forms of advancing technology, bionic limbs should experience falling costs even as technology improves. Devices like the PowerFoot One may be too expensive for many right now, but its successors will hopefully become universal options for those who have lost a foot. And one day for those who still have their foot but want to improve it.

Often when discussing medical technology, Singularity Hub is asked about specific means for acquisition or participation in clinical trials. If you are an amputee interested in trying PowerFoot One or would like more detailed information, please contact iWalk directly at their website.

[image credit: iWalk]

The Smart Hand allows its user to feel what it senses, allowing for precise control.

When Luke Skywalker has his hand cut off in The Empire Strikes Back, he simply has it replaced with a mechanical one that looks, moves, and feels like a real hand. Now, whether you have lost your limb to a lightsaber or a disease, there is a real world equivalent to Luke’s bionic fist: the Smart Hand. Developed by EU researchers, the Smart Hand is a complex prosthesis with four motors and forty sensors designed to provide realistic motion and sense to the user. That’s right, Smart Hand is the first device of its kind to send signals back to the wearer, allowing them to feel what they touch. The first time I saw this, it completely blew my mind. Take a look at the video from BBC News after the break.

Generally when we’ve discussed haptics (sense of touch interfaces), it has been in relation to remote access or telepresence robots. At once, the use of haptics in prostheses is both more intuitive and more intimate. The ability to create feeling extensions of one’s body has implications beyond the (not so) simple creation of life-like limbs. We could see bionic replacements that augment human physicality beyond the normal limits. These replacements, if accompanied by an advanced sense of touch, would have all the benefits of a natural part of your body and yet function better. Full body replacement, or rather body displacement, is the stuff of science fiction movies like Surrogates. Yet if we find a way to perfectly translate mechanical sensation to human sensation, there would be little technological obstruction to extending our consciousness outside our biological bodies.

Phantom limb syndrome is the sensation amputees have that their missing body part is still there. The brain has remained open to receiving input from those nerves although they were cut off long ago. Likewise, impulses from the brain to control the missing limb still travel down the neurons towards the sight of amputation. Scientists can use electronic sensors to pick up the control signals and relay them to a mechanical device. We’ve seen this technology used in the HAL exoskeleton from Cyberdyne, and in the i-Limb prostheses. Smart Hand is unique because it also takes advantage of those phantom limb pathways still being open. Doctors connect the sensors in the hand to the nerves in the stump of the arm. Now, patients can feel as well as control an artificial limb.

The Old You…Maybe Better?

The goal of the Smart Hand project is to create a replacement limb that is as near to identical to the lost one as possible. This means creating a prosthesis that functions and relays sensory input like a normal biological hand. In both objectives, the Smart Hand is far from ultimate success. Four motors, though providing an impressive range of motion, do not have the full degrees of freedom, nor the variation in applied strength that a human hand has. Likewise, it is amazing that the forty sensors can communicate with the human brain at all, but they do not provide nearly as much sensation as the millions of nerves in your biological hand. Yet, as mentioned in the video, the current Smart Hand prototype represents more than ten years of dedicated work.

I only point out the current limitations of Smart Hand to better highlight its enormous potential. Robin af Ekenstam (the patient in the video) can pick up objects, and can feel the fingertips of the prosthesis even at this stage of development. It is clear from his involvement in this project that this level of capability is well worth the time and effort involved. In other words, an imperfect Smart Hand is still a very desirable hand, and can perform remarkable tasks. What happens as Smart Hand gets even better?

The number of scientists dedicated to answering that question is rather astounding. In the Smart Hand project we see the work primarily of Lund University in Sweden and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Italy, but contributors include researchers in Denmark, Israel, Ireland, and Iceland. We’ve seen many other successful prosthetic companies including i-Limb, DEKA, and Ossur. A good number of robotic hand projects work in parallel with prostheses research, including the gentle SDM robotic hand we recently discussed. On the frontier of nerve-machine connectivity are projects like Braingate, which directly connect motor nerves to computers.

Clearly, there is an abundance of resources being directed at all angles of this research coming from many different regions and fields of expertise. When we consider these resources we can rest assured that although it has taken ten years to give us the current version of Smart Hand, it will take much less time to make large improvements upon the technology. Whether or not those improvements occur in this project, or another, it is likely that prosthetic work could see some sort of exponential growth in the upcoming years.

Which means that sooner than we may think, those suffering from missing limbs may be able to heal themselves to a degree beyond their expectation. In the next several years, perhaps decades, prostheses may come to match our natural bodies in most meaningful ways.

Beyond that, of course, sits the realm of abject speculation, but if artificial limbs will one day match the human ones, there’s no reason they couldn’t be further improved. We would then see bionic limbs, or perhaps entirely bionic bodies, which exceed human limitations. Could these mechanical bodies be accepted as authentically human? Already the Olympics have decided that some athletes with prostheses have an unfair advantage and are ineligible to compete. In the years to come we will see how society at large reacts when “good enough” becomes “good as new” and finally “better than ever”.

[photo credit: Smart Hand Project]

[video credit: BBC News]