3D Printed Upper Limb Prosthesis Controlled by the Healthy Hand

This paper deals with designing, 3D printing and testing of an upper limb prosthesis that supports two very important types of hand motion, which are fist rotation and grabbing/releasing an object. The prosthesis is able to mirror the movement of a human arm with the help of a ring that contains a gyroscopic sensor, placed on the healthy hand. The ring, which translates the angular movement into electrical signals processed by the microcontroller, controls the servomotors which finally drive the components of the prosthesis, fingers and wrist rotation system. In that way both, prosthesis and healthy hand, can interact to pick-up an object, to orient it and to place it in a preffered place. This master project has been accomplished as a proof-of-concept that there is a possibility to help less fortunate people, that suffered upper limb amputation, with a more accessible prosthesis.