Wednesday 14 May 2014

Touch Bionics hitting the headlines again!

At SMB Bearings, we are always so thrilled to hear news of our customers products & progress - it's always a delight to see how our bearings are used at the end of the line.  Touch Bionics has been a valued customer for a number of years & we're thrilled to see them hitting the headlines again!


They've been featured in the press this week quite extensively - check this article from the Daily Mail out :

Need a hand (or an arm, or a leg)? Hi-tech app controlled and 3D printed prosthetics shown off

  • Bionic hand hand so advanced it can be controlled using an app
  • Include $140,000 exoskeleton that can let paraplegics walk unaided
From app-controlled hands to strap on exoskeletons that can give mobility to those unable to walk,  the most hi-tech medical innovations in the world went on show today.
The orthopedic world congress 'OTWorld' in Leipzig, Germany, kicked off today with over 5,000 exhibitors.
Everything from bandages to entire limbs was on display, with over 20,000 experts expected to visit.
Model Claudia Breidbach presents a smartphone controlled bionic hand (i-limb) manufactured by the company Touch Bionics of Britain.
Model Claudia Breidbach presents a smartphone controlled bionic hand (i-limb) manufactured by the company Touch Bionics of Britain.
The hand can be controlled using an app but it can also pick up on muscle signals
The hand can be controlled using an app but it can also pick up on muscle signals

HOW IT WORKS

The wearer of the hand can use an app to choose one of 24 different grips.
Alternatively, the hand can be controlled by muscle signals.
Electrodes in the wrist pick up electrical impulses created by contracting muscles and these are interpreted by a computer in the back of the hand.
The computer then moves the hand into any of a series of pre-set patterns.
The event is the biggest of its type in the world.
Klaus-Jürgen Lotz, President of the German Federation of Orthopaedic Technicians Guilds, said OTWorld offers an opportunity to take a look at a unique number of treatments in one place.
 
'This kind of interdisciplinary approach is unparalleled,' he said.
'Add to that the international atmosphere – and you have indeed a unique event.'

548 exhibitors from 37 countries will be showcasing their new products, with 260 of the exhibiting companies coming from outside Germany.
They include a British prosthetic technology company has created a hand which is so advanced it can be controlled using a smartphone app.
Model Claudia Breidbach uses a smartphone controlled bionic hand (i-limb) manufactured by the company Touch Bionics of Britain , which is controlled with a special app.
Model Claudia Breidbach uses a smartphone controlled bionic hand (i-limb) manufactured by the company Touch Bionics of Britain , which is controlled with a special app.
A woman walks with a smartphone controlled bionic hand (i-limb) manufactured by the company Touch Bionics of Great Britain, during the opening day at the trade show OT World 2014 in Leipzig, Germany, Tuesday, May 13, 2014. At the center of concerns are the product groups prosthetics, orthotics, orthopaedic footwear technology, compression therapy and rehabilitation. Over 500 exhibitors and more than 20,000 trade and professional visitors from all over the world are coming to the fair. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)
A man demonstrate a lower limb prosthesis on a skateboard promoted by the Russian company Ortokosmos, Moscow.
Gadgets ranged from the iHand to 3D printed legs (right)
Touch Bionics’ i-limb ultra revolution prosthetic hand also features a rotating thumb, five individually powered fingers, a rotatable wrist and aluminium chassis.
The company claims that this is the most dextrous prosthetic hand ever made.
The wearer of the hand can use an app to choose one of 24 different grips.
Alternatively, the hand can be controlled by muscle signals.
Electrodes in the wrist pick up electrical impulses created by contracting muscles and these are interpreted by a computer in the back of the hand.
The computer then moves the hand into any of a series of pre-set patterns.
A man walks in front of a poster which showing a bionic hand during the opening day of the orthopedic world congress 'OTWorld' in Leipzig, Germany, Tuesday, May 13, 2014.
A man walks in front of a poster which showing a bionic hand during the opening day of the orthopedic world congress 'OTWorld' in Leipzig, Germany, Tuesday, May 13, 2014.
A man demonstrate a lower limb prosthesis on a skateboard promoted by the Russian company Ortokosmos, Moscow. Over 500 exhibitors and more than 20,000 trade and professional visitors from all over the world are coming to the fair.
A man demonstrate a lower limb prosthesis on a skateboard promoted by the Russian company Ortokosmos, Moscow. Over 500 exhibitors and more than 20,000 trade and professional visitors from all over the world are coming to the fair.
It is also the first upper limb prosthesis to be created which can be controlled using an app.
It comes with an iOS app that allows the user to control the hand’s grip using their smartphone.
The app means that the wearer can choose from 24 different grips at the touch of a button.
The app can also offers training on how to best use the device and can diagnose problems with it.
However, it is not only controllable using an app – it also uses muscle signals to shift into a series of pre-set patterns.
It achieves this by using electrodes in the wrist to pick up electrical impulses created by contracting muscles, which are interpreted by a computer in the back of the hand.
People walk under dummies with smart bandages at the trade show OT World 2014 in Leipzig, Germany.
People walk under dummies with smart bandages at the trade show OT World 2014 in Leipzig, Germany.
Visitors stand besides dummies with upper limb prosthetics during the opening day at the trade show.
Visitors stand besides dummies with upper limb prosthetics during the opening day at the trade show.
A dummy with different orthopedic  is on display  in one of the halls
A dummy with different orthopedic is on display in one of the halls
Paraplegic Peter Anziano walks besides his wife Melissa Ford in an 'exoskeleton' manufactured by the US company 'Parker Hannifin Corporation' of Cleveland
Paraplegic Peter Anziano walks besides his wife Melissa Ford in an 'exoskeleton' manufactured by the US company 'Parker Hannifin Corporation' of Cleveland


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2627412/Need-hand-arm-leg-Hi-tech-app-controlled-3D-printed-prosthetics-shown-off.html#ixzz31h4HDBME
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Well done to all the amazing folks developing these products at Touch Bionics, we continue to be thrilled & amazed at your products (& excited that our bearings can be a small part of that).

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