A former Paralympian has been fitted with a bionic hand that can be updated from anywhere in the globe with new movements and gestures.
Jessica Smith, an Australian swimmer, described the device as “wonderful” and elected to have it despite having a horrible experience with a prosthetic as a child.
The Nexus hand is manufactured by the British company Covvi in Leeds, and its Bluetooth capability enables its specialists to remotely upgrade it via an app.
It translates electrical impulses from the upper arm muscles into movements powered by the device’s motors, similar to other bionic hands.
Simon Pollard, chief executive officer of Covvi, remarked that the company’s ability to remotely modify certain customer-requested features is a market first and a very potent feature.
Other prosthetic hands can be operated via the app, but according to Mr. Pollard, he is the first to communicate with a single device.
Ms. Smith stated that the functionality of the hand may be updated rapidly.
“Several children have asked me whether I can perform various hand signals, some nice and others not,” she stated.
“I asked Covvi this morning, and I am confident that it will be completed within the next several hours.”
The swimmer who competed in the 2004 Paralympics had a prosthetic when she was young, but 15% of her body was burned in an accident involving a boiling kettle.
She stated, “There has always been a relationship between the fact that this prosthetic assistance was ineffective and the most horrific occurrence in my life.”
However, she elected to receive the Nexus hand in April at the age of 37, and now her three children are in awe of their “half-human, half-robot” mother.
Ms. Smith, who now works as a speaker and children’s book, stated, “I’m not trying to conceal who I am.”
“By having access to never-before-seen technologies, I’m enhancing and broadening my identity.”
Covvi has signed up 27 global distributors and intends to raise monthly production of the Nexus hand to 100 units.
