China wins arm prosthesis competition

Demonstrating China's strength in assistive technologies, a woman participant from Jiangsu province emerged winner in Cybathlon global finals recently held in Zurich, Switzerland.

The Cybathlon, known as the"Olympics of assistive technologies", is an international event organized by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, with the aim of driving forward the development of assistive technologies suitable for daily use of people with disabilities.

A total of 76 teams from 26 countries competed in 8 disciplines at the finals, using the latest assistive technologies and equipment to perform various daily tasks.

Xu Min, a 49-year-old woman from Suzhou, Jiangsu, teamed up with engineers from the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences to compete in the arm prosthesis race and won the competition, bringing glory to the country.

Wearing a robotic forearm prosthesis, the amputee, who lost her right forearm three decades ago, managed to complete 10 tasks smoothly and accurately, including carrying bottles, hanging laundry, serving food and stacking.

"The smart hand I wore is so flexible, and it is very easy to use," Xu said, who was excited to win the contest, adding that she would like to use the robotic arm in her daily work.

Hu Xuhui, head of the team, said the intelligent prosthesis can decode the electromyographic signals at the residual limb and the motion signals at the shoulder, and accurately measure its interaction forces against the external environment through built-in sensors, thus enabling it to achieve flexible and precise hand movement.

He said the mechanical arm has a very strong grip strength and can easily lift objects weighing up to 10 kilograms. Additionally, it offers precise control over strength to avoid crushing delicate objects such as light bulbs while holding them.

Hu said the components connecting the structure of the prosthesis and those in the socket were made using 3D printing technology, resulting in a lightweight mechanical hand that significantly alleviates the burden on people with disabilities.

"It has been my goal to participate in such internationally influential competitions," Hu said, adding that he hopes to showcase and test his team's research achievements, and learn about the latest technologies in the global field of assistive and rehabilitative robotics.

"Although the result turns out good, we have found some areas that can be further optimized in the future," he said.

Song Aiguo, a professor at Southeast University, who provided the key technology for the intelligent prosthesis, said his team is developing products with higher integration with human body, more practical functions and lighter weight, aiming to bring greater convenience to the daily lives of people with disabilities.

For example, his team is working on a new driving method using soft prosthesis, which functions like real fingers, making it easier to wear and more closely resembling a human hand.

As of last year, the total number of disabled people in China has reached 85.91 million, with 17.36 million of them having physical disabilities, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Guo Jun contributed to this story.