Scotland's i-LIMB wins MacRobert
Commerical Bionic Hand Recognised by UK Engineering Prize
Developed over 45 years, i-LIMB produced by Touch Bionics has won the UK Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert award, announced by the learning engineering society at this week's award dinner ceremony in London.
Professional opinion and deabate about the innovation and excellence of contemporary engineering in the UK were sparked by the earlier publication by the Royal Academy of Engineering shortlist for the annual MacRobert Award. Four premier engineering devices were shortlisted:
- a compact soot filter for diesel cars
- a robotic system to manage biological samples in sub-zero temperatures
- a chemical sensor able to detect early signs of disease
- a prosthetic device with five individually powered fingers i-LIMB
The MacRobert winner, i-LIMB, is produced in Mid Calder Livingston in Scotland by Touch Bionics. Sources in Touch Bionics confirm the Scottish medicine, science and engineering efforts since 1963 to make this bionic hand, first-to-market in July 2007.
i-LIMB Timeline
The bionic hand technology of i-LIMB was developed in Scotland over 45 years:
- 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
About i-LIMB Engineering
While the MacRobert winning 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 the first-to-market prosthetic device with 5 individually powered digits.
An intuitive system underpins the mechanics of the i-LIMB with 2-input myoelectric to open and close the digits on the hand to hold pens, make hand gestures and so on. 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. When the patient uses muscle flexing, he can trigger the signal to open i-LIMB from the move or action. 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.
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.
Patient Information about i-LIMB
Touch Bionics 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. Patient information is available from Touch Bionics.
Visitors to the Science Museum London will be able to see the Macrobert award-winning i-LIMB on display from 12 June 2008.
