Patrick Kane was nine months old when he lost part of his left arm and right leg to meningitis. Now 16, he’s the first person in the UK to wear the world’s most advanced bionic hand.
Patrick has been using earlier versions of Touch Bionic’s prosthetic hands for more than two years now, but his new one incorporates an entirely new functionality: It can be controlled with a mobile phone app.
By tapping the screen, Patrick can trigger one of 24 different grips, each of which he can store as a favorite for daily needs like typing or holding objects. If he’s at a loss for how to access certain features, there’s a training feature to learn the latest of i-limb’s capabilities. Patrick can even check the health of his prosthetic hand with the app’s diagnostic feature.
There is one downside to Touch Bionic’s newly released “i-limb ultra revolution,” however. As the name not so subtly suggests, the mobile app is only downloadable on Apple’s iPhone. Fortunately for Patrick, he owns one, too.
