Bionic i-LIMB On Time Magazine's Innovation List
Scotland's i-LIMB Placed Number 14 on 2008 Top Innovations by Time
Nov 6, 2008
i-LIMB is the first-to-market prosthetic device with 5 individually powered digits and has been recognised by as one of the top innovations of 2008 making Time Magazine’s innovations list.
Earlier this year, i-LIMB was recognised in the United Kingdom by winning the prestigious MacRobert Award in engineering. Now, i-LIMB is recognised for its excellence and innovation by Time Magazine by its inclusion on the Time Magazine 50 Top Innovations List of 2008.
History of the Scottish bionic hand i-LIMB
i-LIMB, is produced in Mid Calder Livingston in Scotland by Touch Bionics building on the collaborative efforts of mechanical engineers, medical staff and scientists on the bionic hand since 1963:
- 1963 - concept for the devise was first outlined by National Health Service (NHS) researchers as part of a project to help children affected by Thalidomide
- 1980s and 1990s - commencement of development work by the NHS in Scotland who owned the intellectual property of the products
- 2001 - The NHS Trust – Edinburgh Healthcare signed an agreement to transfer the intellectual property into the company that is now Touch Bionics
- 2007- i-LIMB produced by Touch Bionics, based in Mid Calder Livingston, went on sale
- 2008 - i-LIMB named winner of the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert award in UK
- 2008 – i-LIMB at 14th place of Time Magazine’s Top 50 Innovations of 2008 List.
About i-LIMB Engineering
While the prosthetic device could be considered less advanced than bionic hands developed by other organisations including the engineering work of NASA and Darpa in the US, i-LIMB is pioneering in the bionic hand’s intuitive system.
The intuitive system underpins the mechanics of the i-LIMB. The system offers 2-input myoelectric to open and close the digits on the hand. This means that the i-LIMB patient can hold pens, make hand gestures and so on. When the patient uses muscle flexing, s/he can trigger the signal to open i-LIMB from the hand action.
More advanced functions - such as rotating the thumb to be able to open a door lock and to point the index finger to operate a computer keyboard – are possible with the i-LIMB knowing when there is enough grip and in the right position to stop powering. With nightly recharging of batteries, i-LIMB can be powered all through the day and evening by batteries internally located in the patient’s socket.
Patient Information about i-LIMB
Patient information is available from Touch Bionics who can fit i-LIMB in selected clinics in the UK and works with orthopaedic and prosthetic clinics including Advanced Arm Dynamics, Hanger Orthopedic, LIVINGSKIN, Scott Sabolich Prosthetics and Benchmark Medical in the US.
The i-LIMB, when in its “sci-fi robotic hand” form, is not waterproof and can be covered with a unique cosmesis, a non-solvent-based silicone rubber compound. A patient’s exact skin type can be matched in the individual i-LIMB cosmesis manufacture and patients have reported that the feel of the covering is close to human skin.
