Bionicohand: a collaborative, open-source myoelectric prosthetic hand designed with and for its user.
Roger Pissard-Gibollet, Côme Butin, Nicolas Huchet and 9 others
PMID 42045903WHAT IT FOUND
The open-source Bionicohand performed comparably to the user's commercial prosthesis in most tasks, achieving second place in the Cybathlon.
It offered better force modulation but slower movement speeds and lacked the ability to distinguish object hardness without feedback.
Key findings
01The Bionicohand achieved second place in the Cybathlon 2024 ARM discipline, with an average execution time of 41.11 seconds across nine tasks, faster than the winner and third-place team.
02In standardized functional tests, the Bionicohand scored lower than the commercial Michelangelo hand, but the authors noted the performance levels were very close.
03The Bionicohand allowed for finer force modulation than the commercial hand but had significantly slower opening and closing speeds and could not distinguish soft from hard objects without vibrotactile feedback.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study involves a single expert user who is also a co-author and the designer of the prosthesis, creating a high risk of bias. The evaluation compares a custom, open-source device against a commercial device the user has used for five years, meaning familiarity and adaptation may favor the commercial prosthesis. The SHAP Index of Function (IOF) could not be calculated due to platform inaccessibility, so alternative metrics (LIF) were used which may not be directly comparable to standard literature. The BNH lacked sensors for object stiffness recognition, limiting its performance in tasks requiring tactile discrimination. Results are not generalizable to novice users or other amputation levels, as the device was specifically tailored to this individual's needs and skills.
Declared interests
The participant NH is a co-author of the study and the user for whom the device was designed. The study describes a collaborative, open-source project involving the user's active participation in design and evaluation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the BNH's second-place Cybathlon finish as evidence that it is superior to commercial prostheses for general use. The device was custom-built for a single expert user who co-designed it, and it performed worse than his daily commercial hand in most standardized functional tests and speed measurements.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →