Bionic Fingers Point to Future of Digit Replacement

Dec. 14, 2009 — -- When Michael Bailey lost three fingers and part of his left hand in a work-related accident in March, he had only two choices: live life without the fingers or get a cosmetic prosthesis that looks like a hand but doesn't work like one.

Then, six months ago, everything changed for Bailey, 24, when he became one of 50 people in the world to be fitted with cutting-edge bionic fingers created by a British and Ohio-based company called Touch Bionics.

Part "Star Wars," part human, each finger contains a motor smaller than a dime. Controlled by a small computer processor and powered by a tiny rechargeable battery, the prosthetics, called ProDigits, allow owners unheard of control over their hands. Electrodes placed against wearers' arms sense when they contract certain muscles. Those small movements then drive the robotic fingers.

"This is right out of science fiction," said Nathan Wagner, a certified prosthetist-orthotist and occupational therapist at Touch Bionics. "We've got fingers that function just like your normal hand. I mean, they're powered by motors and batteries and electricity."

The custom-fit fingers are expensive, costing between $60,000 and $80,000. Most insurance companies have a $1,000 limit on prosthetic devices.

Bailey said he mastered using the fingers after only about five minutes.

'It Felt ... Like I Was Whole Again'

Bailey said he had to relearn how to do everything with only his index and thumb on his left hand prior to receiving his ProDigits. Now, it feels like nothing's missing, he said.

"It was amazing," he said. "It felt like it was supposed to be there. It felt like normal. Like I was whole again."

In the future, doctors hope to create a device that will allow individual fingers to move just by having the brain thinking about it.

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