Jul 24, 2007 7:14 am US/Eastern
Iraq War Vet Becomes 1st To Receive Bionic Hand
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Retired U.S. Army Sergeant Juan Arredondo still remembers the devastating sight of his severed left hand still gripping the steering wheel of the vehicle he was driving in Iraq after an IED suddenly exploded through the door.
Little would he know that that devastation would turn into a miracle, reports CBS station WCBS-TV in New York.
Arredondo, 27, lost his hand Feb, 28, 2005. A little more than two years later he's become one of the first recipients of the world's first bionic hand, called the i-Limb.
Made commercially available in the United States last week through Bethesda, Md.-based Hanger Orthopedic Group, the i-Limb offers a vast improvement to most prosthetic hands in that its fingers can be moved independently.
Arredondo was in Manhattan on Monday to show off his one-of-a-kind bionic hand. "I just go about my daily activities and then I'll find out something new I can do with my hand," he told WCBS-TV.
Incredibly, the i-Limb allows its patient to perform natural and independent bending motions through "joints" that flex like actual fingers, generated by electric signals controlled by the same muscles used to move the hand.
Because the brain thinks the hand is still connected to the body, the muscles still function as if the prosthetic is a real hand.
"They think they want to close the hand, the computer understands that and then closes the hand," Hanger spokesman Troy Farnesworth said.
Each finger contains its own motor that gives the patient the ability to fully grasp anything from a steering wheel to a baseball.
"Being able to catch a ball - those little things you take for granted when you have two hands," Arredondo said. "It just brings a smile to my face because this technology is going to help other people. People like me."
The i-Limb, invented by David Gow and manufactured by U.K.-based prosthetics developer Touch Bionics, also has the flexibility to open door knobs, pick up telephones, or even hold a drinking glass.
Prior to the i-Limb, the most advanced prosthetic hand or arm were called "myo-electric hands" which could only perform simple opening and closing motions. According to Hanger, "to a non-amputee, the former prostheses would be like having all four of your fingers glued together and only being able to move your thumb away from your fingers and back again in a pinching motion."
The i-Limb is now available to order and costs about $50,000 each.
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