Prosthetic Finger | Ana Plastics - Center for Custom Prosthetics

ANAPlastics Inc. Prosthetic Finger Products

Our hands are something we take for granted. Those five digits that makes life that much easier are just always there. They always work, always do our bidding. What if they didn’t work, or were broken beyond repair? What would happen then?

Prosthetic hands have been around for hundreds of years, from the primitive hook like in old pirate movies, to the fully useable ones that were once dreamed up in Star Wars, and are now a reality in some hospitals. If the hand works okay, there is also the option to add prosthetic fingers if only one or two are damaged.

A static prosthesis is one that doesn’t use electronics to make it work. That hook is a good example of a static one. The user can’t feel anything through it and must use their sight to use them. They take a lot of practice to be able to use them effectively, especially so then using them on breakable objects.

Dynamic prosthesis on the other hand are those that can move. They use electronics to either move, or to send sensations to the wearer. They can closely resemble real limbs and work in a very similar way. The most advanced prosthetics interface with the wearers nervous system so they can “think” the prosthetic into action. It can also send sensations of hot and cold to the wearers brain to add an extra element of reality to it.

These prosthetics use sensors on the ends of the fingers and on the palm of the hand to send signals back to the brain, feedback, just like a real hand would do. These hands have motor functions and can move fingers and thumb in an almost natural way. They can also move these digits independently which makes them appear, and act a lot more lifelike.

Once used to the device, the wearer can lead an almost normal life. Once trained they can use the new limb to perform almost all tasks a real one could, including things like typing, lifting and holding objects.

The main advance has been in the ability to use myoelectric signals from the rest of the real arm. These signals are interpreted by the electronics and conveyed to the motors to recreate the desired action. This was the single biggest hurdle facing prosthetic designers. How to make the hand or prosthetic fingers move by thought alone. These electrodes allowed designers to program electronic interpretations of each electric signal which allowed the hand or fingers to move accordingly.

The design and construction is now so good, that they can be almost unrecognizable from the real thing. Another medical breakthrough that allows patients to lead a full and almost normal life.