Exploring augmented grasping capabilities in a multi-synergistic soft bionic hand.
Cristina Piazza, Ann M Simon, Kristi L Turner and 4 others
PMID 32843058WHAT IT FOUND
A new soft bionic hand allowed amputees to switch grips without opening the hand first.
They moved faster on precision tasks than with the previous model, but found it harder to lift heavy cans. This was a small pilot with just three users.
Key findings
01The new hand allowed continuous switching between grips without returning to an open position, unlike standard pattern recognition control.
02Amputees completed the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test faster with the new hand than the previous SoftHand Pro, specifically improving on precision tasks like grasping small objects.
03Performance on lifting tasks was worse with the new hand compared to the previous model, though this difference was not statistically significant.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Very small sample size: only three amputee subjects participated. Short training period: subjects had less than two hours of experience with the device. No control group: the comparison to the previous hand (SH-P) used data from a different study, not a head-to-head trial with the same participants. Fatigue: all participants experienced moderate fatigue, which may have influenced performance on later tasks. Individual variability: one amputee subject (who used body-powered devices at home) performed significantly worse than the other two, skewing the average results for lifting tasks.
Declared interests
The paper states 'Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't' in the publication types. No specific commercial conflicts of interest are declared in the provided text, but the device is a prototype from a research group (Pisa/IIT).
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this device is ready for clinical prescription. The results are from a pilot study with only three amputees who had minimal training. The improvement in precision tasks was accompanied by a decline in lifting tasks, and the comparison to the previous hand was not a direct head-to-head trial.