Touch Bionics upgrades i-LIMB Pulse bionic hand
8 June 2010
Touch Bionics has launched a new version of its revolutionary
i-LIMB bionic hand. The i-LIMB Pulse is a significant advance for the i-LIMB
product line, with enhancements including pulsing grip strength,
software-enabled grip patterns and robust aluminium features for
improved strength.
The i-LIMB Pulse is offered in addition to the existing i-LIMB
Hand, and both products are available to customers depending on the
patients’ preferences.
“Having experienced over three years in the market with the i-LIMB
Hand, we have gathered unparalleled insight into the needs and
requirements of users of upper extremity prosthetic devices” said
Stuart Mead, Touch Bionics’ CEO.
“This has contributed significantly to the development of the i-LIMB
Pulse — for example, we know that the majority of users, whether
male or female, prefer a device with natural body lines, so we
invested considerable time in miniaturizing components and internal
structures to offer two sizes that will accommodate almost all user
preferences.”
The i-LIMB Pulse is so called because it utilises Touch Bionics’
patented pulsing technology to provide increasing and controllable
grip strength. When the i-LIMB Pulse closes on an object, the user
has the option to use the pulsing feature to apply significant
additional grip force, allowing the device to grasp an object more
tightly. These high-frequency electronic pulses are very important
in everyday activities for users, such as tying shoelaces or
doing-up a belt.
With an aluminium chassis, the i-LIMB Pulse’s robust design
features make it Touch Bionics’ toughest prosthetic device yet,
capable of carrying a load of up to 90kg.
“The i-LIMB Pulse is a very exciting technology development,
particularly for someone like myself, who is looking to get back to
a level of duty in the fire service,” said Ian Reid, a firefighter
from Thurso in Scotland, who lost his right hand in a tragic holiday
bus crash in 2003, and the first person to be fitted with an i-LIMB
Pulse. “The pulsing effect, increased robustness and range of grip
features will hopefully give me the increased level of function I’m
looking for.”
With a range of automated features that allow various
combinations of grip patterns and other digit-postures to be
activated by the user, the i-LIMB Pulse offers an unparalleled
degree of flexibility to its users. Patterns like index point,
precision pinch, lateral key grip and three jaw chuck (tripod) are
all now easily activated in a single action by the user.
Key to the i-LIMB Pulse is BioSim, Touch Bionics’ new
Bluetooth-enabled software that allows prosthetists and, for the
first time ever, users (using MyBioSim) to select the features and
control strategies that work best for them.
BioSim is a complete software toolset that allows clinical
practitioners to customise the i-LIMB Pulse to the specific needs of
the user. It allows real-time assessment of users’ myoelectric
impulses with the ability to adjust gain and threshold settings,
select different control strategies, and enable or disable features
and grips, including the pulsing effect. It also provides
statistical analysis and documentation of the device wearer’s usage
patterns, a feature designed to improve patient outcomes and
training.