From only one arm to two! Astro Sta. Ana and James Cenina, two students in Computer Engineering from STI College Ortigas-Cainta, Rizal developed a bionic prosthetic arm with the assistance of an amputee. Their project was not only a great innovation in the field of computer and biomedical engineering, it was also recognized as the best thesis by the college.

Prosthetics are artificial body parts that substitute for a missing or disfigured limb. According to Open Bionics, bionic prosthetic arms are special prosthetics that work via signals sent from the user’s muscles. These muscle activities generally occur during the tenseness of the muscles within the limb, which generate small electric signals that are then detected by the Electromyographical sensors (EMG); these are tiny sensors that measure a muscle’s response. The EMG sensors that are inlaid within the bionic arm help convert the signals into information for the bionic prosthetic arm to process into movement. These bionic prosthetic arms offer more in terms of comfort and mobility.

To simply put: electric activity from muscles gets picked up by the EMG sensor and then the signals get processed into movement by the machine.

The sympathy they had for their countrymen with limb disabilities is what urged them to develop the bionic arm. Sta. Ana, one of the developers of the device, related the experiences they had with the hardships they faced in moving around in the period of the pandemic to the difficulties many people with limb differences face in their day-to-day lives, whose troubles only doubled within the mentioned period.

However, one of the drawbacks of the prosthetic arm they have designed is that there is a lack of feedback from the device to the user, a problem that was stated by Cenina, the other developer. Finally, they have found a way to remedy the problem through implementing force sensors that cause vibrations based on how hard they are gripping or holding an object.

As a bonus, the bionic prosthetic arm that the two developers created costs ₱ 50,000-70,000 and is 86-90% less than the typical cosmetic prosthetics and body-powered prostheses that range between ₱500,000-₱1,000,000.

Cosmetic prostheses are prosthetic limbs that represent an absent part of a body. Whilst body-powered prosthetic limbs are more common, with no automation and are powered by the body parts surrounding the site of the amputation. A body-powered prosthetic limb has a very limited range of movement, usually only up and down or side to side. The difference between the two is that cosmetic prostheses look more natural than body-powered prosthetic limbs which are made to be utilized for day-to-day activities.

Meanwhile, the movement of a bionic prosthetic arm is not limited to up and down and side to side. Through the usage of a computer and machine learning, it enables a machine to accurately predict or perform tasks despite not being explicitly programmed to do so. The bionic arms can also grip, and move faster or slower depending on the tenseness of a person’s muscles.

Their project, if marketed, will greatly influence the lives of amputees and people with limb differences as it provides a lower cost but with more functionality and physical ease for its users.

Sources: 

GMA Integrated News. (2024, October 4). 2 computer engineering students develop bionic prosthetic arm. GMA News Online. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/technology/922639/2-computer-engineering-students-develop-bionic-prosthetic-arm/story/

how does a bionic arm work - Open Bionics. (2022, April 5).

Open Bionics.

https://openbionics.com/en/how-does-a-bionic-arm-work/

Cosmetic prostheses - The Australian Orthotic Prosthetic

Association Ltd. (AOPA). (n.d.).

https://www.aopa.org.au/publications/cosmetic-prostheses#:~:text=Cosmetic%20prostheses%20are%20external%20prostheses,restoring%20their%20pre%2Damputation%20appearance.

6A: Upper-Limb Prosthetics | O&P Virtual Library. (n.d.). https://www.oandplibrary.org/alp/chap06-01.asp#:~:text=Body%2Dpowered%20components%20have%20been,remote%20from%20the%20amputation%20site.

Professional, C. C. M. (2024, August 23). Prosthesis. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/prosthesis