Young UrFU Researcher Creates Unique Biomechanical Hand

12:52, June 1, 2018

The invention is already of interest for the city's orthopedic enterprises

Fyodor Kotorov, a young researcher at Ural Federal University, Russia, developed a prototype of biomechanical fingers capable of lifting heavy items.  The prototype has already passed primary tests with a canister of water.

“The idea of designing a mechanical hand came to me when I was watching a series of videos on biomedical engineering achievements, both Russian and international”, said Fyodor in his interview for Oblastnaya Gazeta. “When watching a video about bionic prostheses, I noticed two flaws that their constructions had, the main one being limited functionality: none of the existing prototypes of bionic limbs is capable of lifting heavy weights. The second important aspect is the price of such devices: one has to pay quite a large amount of money to have a bionic hand mounted. Besides, as far as I know, it is impossible to do in our country at the moment”.

The first prototype was finished in two months without using any special tools. All materials for the future bionic hand were acquired by Fyodor himself.

The fingers are made from high-strength non-toxic plastic, which is weather-resistant and can’t be bent or broken. The structure is controlled by a hardware/software system, connected to the muscles.

Experts of Ural Federal University were the first ones to recognize the importance of the young researcher’s invention.

“The biomechanical hand created by Fyodor Kotorov falls into the category of biomedical engineering, namely, development of technological means of rehabilitations for physically challenged people”, says Boris Shulgin, Chief Research Scientist at the Academic Department of Experimental Physics, Institute of Physics and Technology, UrFU. “By their technical and functional specifications, the prototypes of the biomechanical fingers developed by Fyodor meet the standards set by the best foreign models. The hand still needs to be worked on, but it is already of interest for prosthetic and orthopedic enterprises, first of all, located in Ekaterinburg, and can be patented.”

Several large orthopedic companies have already shown interest in Fyodor’s invention and are ready to put it in mass production. In the nearest future, the young inventor intends to make the fingers into a full hand, and cover it with artificial skin made of temperature-resistant material.