University of Oxford researchers developed an affordable prosthetic that relies on the wearer’s breath for power and control. (Image Credit: Mobility India)
People who lost their limbs can choose varying prosthetics to wear, including the cable-driven body-powered system. However, this type comes with a heavy price due to professional fitting and maintenance costs. University of Oxford researchers developed a new low-cost breath-powered hand prosthetic, a beneficial solution for children and those in low and mid-income countries. This lightweight device can be worn rather than the Bowden cable-driven body-powered prosthetic, which feels uncomfortable for some wearers.
“Our breathing-powered device provides a novel prosthetic option that can be used without limiting any of the user’s body movements. It is one of the first truly new design approaches for power and control of a body-powered prosthetic since the emergence of the cable-driven system over two centuries ago,” the University of Oxford and the paper’s senior author Professor Jeroen Bergmann says.
The team worked with LimbBo, a UK-based charity for children with limb differences, to create the device. Wearers power a small “purpose-built Tesla turbine “through their breathing to accurately move the prosthetic fingers. Children can also reach the required air volume to power this prosthetic, and the gearing indicates the grasping action’s speed.
The device is also ideal for adolescents still undergoing growth. Compared to other prosthetic options, this type relies on minimal maintenance and training for ease of use.
“One of our aims at The LimbBo Foundation is to ensure that all our children have access to any devices which will aid their day-to-day lives. No two limb differences are the same, and what will help one child will not be suitable for another. Currently, there is some choice available regarding prosthetics, but there are still children who need a completely different approach. For many, their lack of an elbow joint severely limits their access to prosthetic devices, and so we welcomed the chance to be involved with Professor Jeroen Bergmann to look at different approaches. This is an exciting development for many of our children,” says Jane Hewitt, Trustee of LimbBo.
“We welcome this research as a completely different approach to enabling our children to have the help that a prosthetic such as this would give them. The element of choice is important, and we would fully support any research and development plans that enable this. We feel that by including us in discussions, the team in Oxford really do want the best for our children,” she continued.
“Over 40 million individuals worldwide are estimated to have limb differences – most with no access to any form of prosthetic care. Besides, upper-limb prosthetics currently available to patients are often neither affordable nor appropriate, especially in low-resource settings. We hope our research represents a step-change in making prosthetics more widely accessible and helping overcome challenges with current options,” said Dr. Vikranth H. Nagaraja, the first author of the paper.
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