You are here: REHACARE Portal. Up-to-date. Archive. Development
of Prosthetic Hands Stagnated The prosthetic hand from 1945
performed better than the newer hands; © TU Delft The
development of body-powered prosthetic hands has stagnated for
over twenty years. That is the main conclusion of a study by
researchers from Delft University of Technology and the
University of Groningen into this type of prosthesis. The study
measured the force required to operate a number of contemporary
body-powered prosthetic hands. The researchers compared the
results to earlier measurements from 1987 and came up with
remarkable results: today’s prosthetic hands perform equally or
less well than those from 1987. The grip strength of the hands
is insufficient and a very high operating force is required.
Another remarkable result: a prosthetic hand developed in 1945
performed better in the test than the newer prosthetic hands.
Gerwin Smit: “The study offers a possible explanation why over
half of all people with a body-powered pros