British tech company Touch Bionic is enabling amputees by supplying an Apple-operated app to enhance limb functionality.
Through a stylus and a 24 grip pattern even double amputees are enabled through the independent i-limb hand operated by the iPad or iPhone.
Motorised fingers and thumbs allow object engagement – a major improvement on previous prosthetics which contained passive body parts.
Joe Reda, assistant director of orthotic and prosthetic services at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey, said: “The changes are happening rather rapidly now, and I think it’s because of our wars overseas,”USA TODAY reported.
Reda referred to the recent Boston bombings and United States war developments for military action in Afghanistan as invention incentives.
With more than 260 injured at the Boston marathon, new prosthetic possibilities now provide solutions driven by motor technology.
Although only obtainable at a pricy US$100,000, the i-limb ultra revolution is covered by some insurance institutions.
Jason Koger, a 34 year-old who lost three of his limbs in an all-vehicle terrain accident, said he was given the first free model to test for feedback.
“Five years ago, I couldn’t pull my pants up by myself,” said Koger,
“Today, I go hunting and do some of the things that I probably never imagined I could have done five years ago,” he added.
Koger demonstrated his new abilities on Thursday, May 2, in Philadelphia, United States.
