STUDENTS DEVELOP PROSTHETIC FINGER CAPABLE OF APPLYING FORCE

bca

[size=0.9]Students at the Engineering Faculty of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) have developed the mechanism for a prosthetic finger to form a functional hand device with the ability to apply force.

[size=0.9]The state of hand replacement technology is pretty much behind in Latin America. Mechanical prosthetics with clamps are still being used, and these are quite limited in movement and functionality. For this reason, a team of specialists at UNAM developed a prototype of a finger that can apply force.

[size=0.9]Existing prosthetic hands lack the capacity to apply force and move. With this in mind, the team reviewed existing literature on the theory of machines and mechanisms, and came up with the idea of using planetary gears, or epicyclic gears, a system that provides a number of benefits to the task at hand.

[size=0.9]

Original Image: Press Release UNAM-DGCS-485. Source: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México UNAM

[size=0.9]“So the option of using that transmission came up, not asan independent mechanism of the mechanical finger, but as an integral part of that limb,” stated Francisco Cuenca, a team member of Prosthetics group from the engineering faculty, quoted from an official UNAM communiqué. “We didn’t require the palm or the forearm to place the device that increases the strength, which encouraged us to experiment. We also knew about the benefits extent to which the mechanical system is feasible, but we didn’t know what the result could be for a restricted space, such as the finger.”

[size=0.9]The basic system consists of three parts: two gears and one bar. To provide movement it requires two motors that allow the gears to rotate just like the Earth does around the Sun and on its own axis. Based on the development of one finger, the other four where created, to complement the hand prosthetic and allow it to do what no other prosthetic hand can do.

[size=0.9]Cuenca also explained that existing hand prosthetics have “weak” fingers and are not able to even lift a bottle, a full grocery bag or a bucket. Their creation will be able to do these actions and provide these benefits. It is also expected to be more affordable, as the ones that currently exist are quite expensive.