Ir Prof. ZHENG Yongping, Director of the Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA), Henry G. Leong Professor in Biomedical Engineering and Chair Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and his team have developed ProRuka, a novel 3D-printed prosthetic powered hand that can move its fingers independently. ProRuka provides more comfort and mobility for users, enhancing user acceptance and helping users regain quality of life, independence, and confidence.
ProRuka is controlled by stump muscle signals collected by wireless wearable ultrasound imaging known as sonomyography. These signals are analysed by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in real time to decode the hand’s natural control mechanism. The AI model can also classify a specific hand gesture and the degree of action based on the activation pattern of all muscles combined in the scanning area. ProRuka allows more intuitive control of the prosthetic hand, and can predict more complex hand gestures with higher accuracy, as compared to other available prosthetic hands. It is lightweight and cost-effective, and its mechanical design is based on the natural dimensions and proportions of the human hand.
The invention won the Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury and the Special Award from the Taiwan Invention Association at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva, Switzerland.
