26.05.2019
Hand loss leads to a significant reduction in functionality and psychological issues, which could be compensated by hand prostheses. Existing hand prostheses suffer high patient rejection rate due to lack in functionality (grasping force and control), aesthetic appearance and the ability to produce anthropomorphic motion.
3D printed hand prostheses are proposed, featuring a novel linkage finger architecture for improved grasping force and a haptic feedback system for intuitive grasping control. The linkage finger is developed based on a unique epicyclic kinematic chain optimised to compensate for low-strength 3D printed components. The haptic feedback system utilises thin-film sensors for sensing and micro-vibration-motors for skin stimulation. The prostheses were clinically tested on young and adult patients. The team was granted 2017 Amy Geach Hand Therapy Innovation Award for the project.
Personnel - Ms Zijue Chen (PhD student), Mr Aarjav Khara (PhD student), Dr Shao Liu (past student, current postdoctoral fellow)
