Project Description

Prehensile Prosthetic hand. A prosthetic hand that would use the same basic principle as a human hand : the fingers are made of three articulated phalanges each. On the contrary, the thumb does not move and is opposite the index finger.

” I have never tackled this project for a prosthetic hand as a Doctor or a Prosthesist but as a Sculptor and an Automata Maker, in other words as a Technician and an Artist. When undertaking the technical study, I applied the principles defended for years by Dr Jean-Eric Lescoeur that is to say a prehensile hand that can grasp objects. This mechanical prosthesis uses strings. The dorsal surface, made of metal, is articulated between the phalanges and the palmar surface, made of foam rubber is covered in soft leather. I was able to get rid of the glove which considerably reduced the prehension performance and I managed to turn the prosthesis into a real animated sculpture. I wanted to create a hand that would no longer cause shame and repulsion. I wanted the amputees themselves to be proud to have a prosthetic hand and pleased to look at it. And for the people around them, I wanted the prosthetic hand to be an object of healthy curiosity, a work of art. I would like to see Amputees happy and proud of their prosthesis.”

The technique

Life size. Movement achieved with nylon strings attached to a spring force balancer fixed to a traction wire. The traction is exerted by a shoulder harness.