The Hannes hand prosthesis replicates the key biological properties of the human hand

Replacing the human hand with artificial devices of equal capability and effectiveness is a long-standing challenge. Even the most advanced hand prostheses, which have several active degrees of freedom controlled by the electrical signals of the stump's residual muscles, do not achieve the comp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science robotics 2020-09, Vol.5 (46)
Main Authors: Laffranchi, M, Boccardo, N, Traverso, S, Lombardi, L, Canepa, M, Lince, A, Semprini, M, Saglia, J A, Naceri, A, Sacchetti, R, Gruppioni, E, De Michieli, L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of Daily Living
Adult
Amputees - rehabilitation
Artificial Limbs
Biomechanical Phenomena
Biomimetic Materials
Elasticity
Electromyography
Hand - anatomy & histology
Hand - physiology
Hand Strength - physiology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Satisfaction
Pilot Projects
Prosthesis Design
Range of Motion, Articular
Robotics - instrumentation
Surveys and Questionnaires
User-Computer Interface
Young Adult
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Summary:Replacing the human hand with artificial devices of equal capability and effectiveness is a long-standing challenge. Even the most advanced hand prostheses, which have several active degrees of freedom controlled by the electrical signals of the stump's residual muscles, do not achieve the complexity, dexterity, and adaptability of the human hand. Thus, prosthesis abandonment rate remains high due to poor embodiment. Here, we report a prosthetic hand called Hannes that incorporates key biomimetic properties that make this prosthesis uniquely similar to a human hand. By means of an holistic design approach and through extensive codevelopment work involving researchers, patients, orthopaedists, and industrial designers, our proposed device simultaneously achieves accurate anthropomorphism, biomimetic performance, and human-like grasping behavior that outperform what is required in the execution of activities of daily living (ADLs). To evaluate the effectiveness and usability of Hannes, pilot trials on amputees were performed. Tests and questionnaires were used before and after a period of about 2 weeks, in which amputees could autonomously use Hannes domestically to perform ADLs. Last, experiments were conducted to validate Hannes's high performance and the human likeness of its grasping behavior. Although Hannes's speed is still lower than that achieved by the human hand, our experiments showed improved performance compared with existing research or commercial devices.
ISSN:2470-9476
2470-9476
DOI:10.1126/SCIROBOTICS.ABB0467