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First-year student of Applied Mechanics at Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) Danil Fonov presented the original project of a hand bioprosthesis. The main feature of the invention is its economy and functionality: the prosthesis is created from low-cost materials and the final cost of the prototype does not exceed 60,000 rubles, while the minimum price of analogs amounts to about half a million rubles.
As Danil Fonov said, his team is striving to make a prosthesis combining ease of use, hydroprotection, high signal transmission rate and the availability of feedback.
""At the initial stage, we use printing on a 3D printer. Excluding the time and effort of the team, the cost of our prosthesis together with the neurohelmet will be 50,000–60,000 rubles. The plastic on which we print, biodegradable, so in the future we plan to make prostheses of titanium and aluminum, and of various designs, for example, to make carbon stump sleeves. Of course, the cost will increase significantly, but it will still be about three times less than the best current prosthesis," said Danil Fonov.
At this stage, the team members are developing a control system based on brain impulses. Modern prosthetic devices read the biopotential through muscle tension. The Danil's team has an idea to work directly with the brain impulses, the frequencies will be transmitted to the prosthesis, and it will work naturally, i.e without the help of compressions, presses, and switches.
There are already prosthetic devices in the world that work on implantable sensors, for this purpose the cranium is opened, and a person is fitted with an implant that performs a very accurate reading. However, not everyone agrees to such an operation, especially since it is very expensive.
"We make a surface sensor, so that a person simply wears a hat, diadem, etc., which will read the information. We are trying to move away from myoelectric sensors and offer our concept of taking the reading of what a person wants to do—by means of an encephalograph directly from the brain.
Now our programmer, who at the same time is a specialist in neurosystems, is working on a motor neuron, and I am working on the cognitive processes using MindWave Mobile neuro-headset made by NeuroSky. A lot of physicochemical processes take place in our brain every second. Their summation leads to weak electrical activity, which is recorded by electroencephalograph sensors. Some processes occur cyclically, with a certain frequency and amplitude. Depending on their characteristics, it is customary to distinguish: Delta Rhythm: A deep sleep or a state of hypnosis; Theta Rhythm: drowsiness, inattention, relaxation; Alpha Rhythm: relaxation together with attention; Beta Rhythm: a high level of attention and information processing processes. And by the difference of these frequencies it is possible to catch different thought processes, up to joy and sadness. Once our work is complete, patterns are identified, we will draw up our scheme and will work with it," said Danil Fonov.
The next idea of the students is to replace the motor part with electro-active polymers. They have increased wear resistance, because they do not have rotating and sliding elements, and have much in common with their natural prototype, muscles.
"We have also committed ourselves to develop a waterproof bionic arm in a fully sealed body that make it possible to remove the hand rarely and only for routine maintenance. In addition, we plan to work with the battery on nano-particles that would be able to operate without recharging for several days. Since many people with disabilities have a sedentary lifestyle, we would like to introduce a wireless charging function to completely get rid of the need for outlets. In addition, our goal is to create a smart prosthetic management system that can learn along with its owner and have an unlimited number of gestures and possible combinations. Ideally, we want to translate all 22 degrees of freedom that a real hand has, and even expand them. We will also soon begin to develop and release children's traction prostheses," said Danil Fonov.