Nine-year-old Josh Cathcart was born with his right arm missing from his elbow, but thanks to a new bionic hand, he can play with Legos, eat with a knife and fork, and pull up his trousers for the first time.
As the first child in the UK to be fitted with the i-limb quantum, a special-sized prosthetic hand developed by Touch Bionics, Cathcart finds it “awesome” and couldn’t wait to show it to his friends at school. What’s most impressive is that it’s the first upper-body prosthetic that can change grips with a simple gesture that’s controlled completely by the user’s muscle signals. The wearer simply moves their hand in any of four directions to instantly activate the desired grip.
Josh Cathcart demonstrating the i-limb quantum. Image source: The Guardian.
“I made myself a bagel yesterday,” said Cathcart. “I can open bottles and packets with it. I can stack up blocks, I can build Legos with it, and I can pull my trousers up.”
According to Alison Goodwin, prosthetist at Touch Bionics, based out of Livingston, West Lothian in Scotland, Cathcart is the youngest the company’s fitted so far, and is the first to try the extra-small hand that recently became available.
Josh Cathcart building with Legos. Image source: The Guardian.
Released in June, the i-limb quantum incorporates the company’s i-mo technology, which allows forward, backward, and side-to-side movements, enabling grips such as a pinch or a lateral grip. Goodwin said of the technology, “It works from electrodes which are positioned on the surface of his skin within the socket of his prosthesis, so this is the custom-made part which is fitted on to his residual limb. When he tenses these muscles, the electrodes open and close the hand.”
Because Cathcart is not familiar with using muscles on his right arm, the technology required a bit of work on his part, but the more he uses his new hand, the easier, and more natural, it becomes.
Learn more about the i-limb quantum.
Source: The Guardian
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