BIOSPECTRUM | SEPTEMBER 2018 | http://www.biospectrumindia.com TECHNOLOGIES^33
appropriate and qualified prosthetic and orthotic
fitting and rehabilitation to live productive and active
lives with dignity.Testing trial of Myo prosthetics on Patients (Source at LimBots lab)Another startup based in R.V. College of
Engineering comprising of a young team working
on innovation bionic arm. It was found that
rehabilitation for the handicapped is a big issue in
the world. They went through many studies about
assistive devices for the handicapped and found that
prosthetic hands for the upper limb are either hook
or hand-shaped and are actuated by either body or
external power. Body-powered prosthetic limbs are
controlled by cables connecting them to elsewhere
on the body. Externally powered prosthetic limbs are
powered with motors which can be controlled by the
patient in several ways through switches or buttons.
While these are functional, they wanted to develop
prosthetic limbs that are more hassle free and more
intuitive to control. They found that a more advanced
way to control a prosthetic limb was by ‘listening’ to
the muscles remaining in the residual limb that the
patient could still contract. Because muscles generate
small electrical signals when they contract, electrodes
placed on the surface of the skin can measure muscle
movements. Although no buttons are physically
pressed by the muscles in this case, their contractions
are detected by the electrodes and then used to
control the prosthetic limb- in a way similar to the
switch control method.Way forward
With the advent of Accessible India Campaign
(Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) to serve the differently-
able community of the country, there are several
startups coming up with superior and advanced
technologies. The technologies would serve and
deliver an Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User-
friendly, Rapid and robust, biomedical devices which
are affordable to Low and Middle-Income Countries
(LMIC).
Sujatha Ramasamy, Scientist-B; Pulak Ranjan
Basak, Scientist-F; Srikanta Priyadarshan Patra, Project
Associate (Technology Information, Forecasting and
Assessment Council (TIFAC) - Department of Science &
Technology, Government of India, New Delhi).like Brain-machine interface, Myoelectric prosthesis,
Bionics, Biomechatronics etc. have evolved with
integrative approach eg. Design of prosthetic hand
needs a compelling knowledge of physiology,
anatomy, electrical and electronics, mechanical
design, software, and so on, depending on the nature
of control etc. Different types of prosthetic hands
ranging from body-powered prosthetic hand to
neural interface-based prosthetic hand, which are
being manufactured and attempted in the market and
for the purpose of research.
Startups in making of
Myo-Electric prosthetics
Under the flagship program of Make in India,
startups are coming forward to make the
myoelectric prosthetics a reality in India. DeeDee
labs is developing a non-invasive bionic prosthetic
solutions with Multigrasp Hand Pattern Recognition
Software, it replaces the current surgerical mode
with more noninvasive way. More like thought
controlled prosthesis experience. It completely
focuses on lightweight design, less learning time for
amputees, longer battery life and the most important
affordability. The current myo electric prosthetics
are invasive and are costly. Their idea is to make
use of the body’s naturally generated electric signals
of the muscles and process it in order to perform
the desired action by the hand. While the product
is mainly being developed to perform hand actions,
namely contraction and relaxation, pinching and
pointing at objects, engineers are also working on
adding more gestures.
Testing trial of Myo prosthetics on Patient Source@Deedeelabs (twitter)Limbot Technologies which focuses on affordable
and advance myo electric prosthetics to perform
daily task with comfort and ease. LimBot deals with
integration of prosthetic or artificial limbs, orthotic
devices, mobility aids, and rehabilitative care. Their
mission is to reach out to people with experienced
limb loss, who lacks financial resources, and do
not qualify for any other funding assistance, and to
provide those individuals with assistance in obtaining