Breath controls revolutionary hand prosthesis design

A new hand prosthesis is cable-free and controlled by the user’s breathing, researchers have announced.

The device offers an alternative to the 200-year-old cable technology behind standard prosthesis, according to the developers at Oxford University.

It is especially suitable for young children and adolescents who are still growing and does not require a harness, according to the Oxford engineers.

They have reported their work in the journal *Prosthesis*.

Developer Professor Jeroen Bergmann said: "Our breathing-powered device provides a novel prosthetic option that can be used without limiting any of the user’s body movements.

"It is one of the first truly new design approaches for power and control of a body-powered prosthetic since the emergence of the cable-driven system over two centuries ago."

Fellow researcher Dr Vikranth Nagaraja said: "Over 40 million individuals worldwide are estimated to have limb differences – most with no access to any form of prosthetic care. Besides, upper-limb prosthetics currently available to patients are often neither affordable nor appropriate, especially in low-resource settings.

"We hope our research represents a step-change in making prosthetics more widely accessible and helping overcome challenges with current options."

Reimagining prosthetic control: A novel body-powered prosthetic system for simultaneous control and actuation *Prosthesis* 29 July 2022

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