Man creates his own working bionic hand after medical insurance company refused to pay for one
Topics: Technology, Health, Science
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Ian Davis
Topics: Technology, Health, Science
While prosthetics are certainly a lot more common than they were 20 years ago, they are still pretty expensive.
And the harsh reality is that the vast majority of people do not have access nor can afford them.
And in some countries, such as the US, health insurance often doesn't cover the cost of a basis prosthetic.
Ian Davis found himself in that situation after four of his five fingers were amputated in 2018.
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Davis is a mechanical engineer so, incredibly, was able to create his own prosthetic hand that looks like something straight out of The Terminator.
So how did Davis get into such a situation?
Well, he was suffering from a form of cancer called Multiple Myeloma, which can cause the bones to become thinner and weaken.
And after he broke bones in his hand as a result of a shopping accident, doctors were forced to amputate the four fingers of his left hand.
Davis was under the impression his insurance company would pay out for any prosthetic, but sadly that was not the case.
The insurance company cited that because his palm was still functional, it didn’t think his fingers were 'medically necessary'.
So, Davis decided to sketch up some designs for the bionic hand while still in his hospital bed.
And over the past six years, his bionic hand has gone through many iterations - something Davis has documented on his YouTube channel.
These days, he is able to fully use his bionic hand after he impressively machined it from aluminium.
When Davis moves his hands or wrist, a series of linkages transmits that movement to the fingers.
Chains on the fingers cause them to curl closed, and they spring back open when tension is released.
Just a couple of months ago, we heard of the man whose hand was crushed by meat grinder became the first person to get 3D-printed bionic fingers.
Mo Ali had to have four of his fingers amputated after a terrible accident in his kitchen as a child.
And earlier this year Mo became the recipient of a high-tech prosthetic hand which has seen him regain huge amounts of dexterity.
The robotic hand, dubbed as 'Hero Gauntlet', was designed as a prosthesis specifically for people who have had part of their hand amputated.
It was developed by UK company Open Bionics, and allows Mo to regain a lot of the dexterity he lost in the accident.