Psyonic Prosthetic Hands to go to Ecuador

CHAMPAIGN – EnterpriseWorks tenant Psyonic will be delivering pressure-sensitive prosthetic hands to Ecuador next month and working with local amputees. The company’s sensory feedback technology has played a critical role in the creation of low-cost, pressure-sensitive prosthetic hands. 

Psyonic’s CEO and and co-founder, Aadeel Akhtar, told IllinoisHomepage.net that the prosthetics’ ability to distinguish between light touches and strong touches makes a big difference to their users.

Akhtar tells WCIA Channel 3: “When we get that pressure signal coming from that sensor, we can actually convert that into electrical impulses that are sent into the skin of the residual limb of the amputee. This is one of the many grips this hand can do, so that’s a normal power grasp we call holding the pinch. With the sensory feedback  that you can get from the finger, you’ll be able to actually feel the things you’re gripping as well.”

Akhtar will be bringing a shipment of pressure-sensitive hands to Ecuador next month, working with local amputees. Each prosthetic costs only $30, and has the potential to change the lives of amputees living in poor regions of countries around the world.