Scientist Creates Prosthetic Arm Where All Five Fingers Can Move Individually

A Georgia Tech College of Design professor named Gil Weinberg has made headlines recently for creating a prosthetic arm where all five individual fingers can move independently of each other. The mechanical digits are so dexterous, in fact, that they allow the person using them to actually play the piano. This could lead to some explosive developments in the robotics prosthesis sector.

The advanced prosthetics were developed for Jason Barnes who suffered a major electric shock back in 2012, resulting in doctors having to remove parts of his arm from the elbow down, Futurism reports. As a musician, Barnes was understandably devastated by this loss but Weinberg gave him hope. Two years after the incident, Barnes was given a prosthetic arm that actually allowed him to play the drums.

At the time, however, what the patient really wanted was to be able to play the piano again. So the engineers got to work and now, Barnes got his wish. He is now equipped with a prosthetic arm with fingers nimble enough to be moved individually.

With regards to how the scientists even managed to do this, Weinberg explained in a post on the Georgia Tech publication that it was due to ultrasound. The key is to basically intercept the intent from the patient and then interpret that to produce the corresponding movement.

“Our prosthetic arm is powered by ultrasound signals,” Weinberg said. “By using this new technology, the arm can detect which fingers an amputee wants to move, even if they don’t have fingers.”

For his part, Barnes is simply ecstatic that he is now much closer to regaining his former level of movement. The technology isn’t perfect, but it is the ray of hope that amputees can hold on to.

“It’s completely mind-blowing,” Barnes said. “This new arm allows me to do whatever grip I want, on the fly, without changing modes or pressing a button. I never thought we’d be able to do this.”