The most realistic bionic hand on sale for £8,500

[imported_ghengis]

The most realistic bionic hand yet invented, which allows the user to move all five digits has gone on sale. The product, created by British scientists, is a welcome development for amputees. The Touch Bionics' i-LIMB Hand looks and acts like a real human hand. The prosthetic device is powered by tiny muscle movements in the forearm which send signals to electrodes that sit on the surface of the skin. These then move the five individually powered digits. A patient will be able to grip objects, pick up small items and point with one finger.

One British man and 13 others in the U.S. have already been fitted with the device in clinical trials. However, from today private patients and the NHS can buy them off the shelf for £8,500. The clinical trial patients found the new hand easy to adapt to. "I was amazed by how quickly I could learn to do things with the i-LIMB Hand, even only an hour after being fitted with it," said Donald McKillop from Kilmarnock, Scotland.