This is the prosthetic finger system from Point Designs. I haven’t seen that one before. Unlike Naked Prosthetics’ fingers, Point Designs’ seem to address mainly the need of people with MCP joint-level or ray amputations of the hand. So kind of the same demographic as Ian Davis’s fabulous prosthetic hand system, but much less complex.
They use a simple ratcheting mechanism that’s designed to be washable, almost maintenance-free and able to withstand 150 lbs of pulling force:
Point Designs supplies an “impression kit” - basically a pot of quick-cure 2-part latex - to take a print of your residual hand and send it to them for fabrication of the socket. So presumably, if you have a handy friend to help your out, you don’t need to visit a prosthesist and you can do it at home, potentially saving you money:
Finally, Point Designs offers free fingertip pads for the lifetime of the prosthesis and a 24-month warranty that covers manufacturing defects.
Not too surprisingly, I was unable to find any pricing information.
More worryingly, I was also unable to find any independent review or material apart from the company’s own or their distributors’. So ultimately, I have no idea what those fingers are worth.
But they seem really cool so I figured I’d share.
I was totally expecting her to do some crazy trick shot on the billiards table rather than light a lighter.
Anyway it’s nice to see technology used for non-depressing things.
It is the depressing things done with technology, that necessitate the non depressing things. Prosthetics like that likely cost 100x the price from a prosthetics company, and of course insurance companies will say it isn’t medically necessary
It’s the mundane everyday things you can’t do anymore that you miss the most.
true, I was just distracted by the ever present table. Of course a billiards table also takes up a lot of space and it would be hard not to have it in the camera frame.
Is this something I could help people access? I have a high end 3d printer.
You totally should hook up with Ian Davis. He’s trying to bring his mechanical hand to market as a kit and he’s been at it for years. If you have a metal 3D printer, I’m sure he’d love to work with you.
I have a high-end printer capable of using carbon fiber filament, though I bet PETG would be more than strong enough.
Never underestimate an amputee’s ability to wear off and break any prosthesis 🙂 Nothing is strong enough to resist real life, heavy use multiple hours a day. Amputees don’t have the time or luxury to baby their prostheses: they need them to function and live an ordinary life. Prostheses get a real beating and making them last is a properly difficult engineering challenge.
I mean, that absolutely makes sense.
