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June 1, 1998
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TO THE POINT: Rutgers research team develops innovative artificial hand
NEW BRUNSWICK/PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- A Rutgers research team has developed an
innovative artificial prosthesis for people who are missing a hand. The artificial hand is an
improvement over existing technology because it allows users to control individual fingers via
their original nerve pathways instead of having to relearn new actions to move a prosthesis.
William Craelius, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Rutgers' College of
Engineering, is directing the research and development of an artificial hand that mimics the
hand's original control system.
"If you lose your hand, you can still feel your fingers and want to move them," said
Craelius. The artificial hand uses an amputee's ability to move "phantom fingers" by harnessing
the movements of finger muscles and tendons that extend up to the elbow. Sensors in the
artificial hand pick up signals from these muscles and tendons and transmit them to a computer
that directs the hand.
The research is the dissertation project of graduate student Rochel Abboudi, who
presented the team's findings at a recent meeting of the Association for the Advancement of
Medical Instrumentation in Philadelphia. Abboudi's paper, co-authored with Craelius, was
selected as one of the top three papers submitted for the meeting.
The new prosthesis is a breakthrough in existing technology because it gives the user a
broader range of movement. Current technology offers only one form of movement, the ability
to open and close a prosthesis by flexing a muscle.
The latest prosthesis, however, gives the user natural control over at least three
independent artificial fingers. Tests conducted with amputee subjects have shown that users
have been able to type with three fingers, said Craelius.
Success of the artificial hand, however, may depend on the age of the amputee, since the
control pathways for finger movement gradually lose function after years of disuse.
The work is a collaboration between the Orthotics and Prosthetics Laboratory at Rutgers
and Nian-Crae Inc., a Somerset-based technology company. The research is funded by a
$100,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health through its science and technology transfer
program.
The team is seeking additional subjects to participate in the study. For more information,
call Craelius at(732) 445-2369 or via e-mail at craelius@ci.rutgers.edrp.
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