Patient using new prosthetic fingers for the first time!
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Point Designs is excited to welcome Angie into the Point Digit family! After an off-roading accident over a year ago, Angie is now able to don her new prosth...

This is the prosthetic finger system from Point Designs. I haven’t seen that one before. Unlike Naked Prosthetics’ fingers, Point Designs’ seem to address mainly the need of people with MCP joint-level or ray amputations of the hand. So kind of the same demographic as Ian Davis’s fabulous prosthetic hand system, but much less complex.

They use a simple ratcheting mechanism that’s designed to be washable, almost maintenance-free and able to withstand 150 lbs of pulling force:

Swinging a Sledgehammer with Prosthetic Fingers

Point Pivot+ Functional Benefits: Thumb Abduction and Pinch Grasp

Point Designs Patient Angie Lott Washing Titanium Prosthetic Fingers

Point Designs supplies an “impression kit” - basically a pot of quick-cure 2-part latex - to take a print of your residual hand and send it to them for fabrication of the socket. So presumably, if you have a handy friend to help your out, you don’t need to visit a prosthesist and you can do it at home, potentially saving you money:

Point Designs Impression Overview

Finally, Point Designs offers free fingertip pads for the lifetime of the prosthesis and a 24-month warranty that covers manufacturing defects.

Not too surprisingly, I was unable to find any pricing information.

More worryingly, I was also unable to find any independent review or material apart from the company’s own or their distributors’. So ultimately, I have no idea what those fingers are worth.

But they seem really cool so I figured I’d share.

  • Grass
    2·
    17 hours ago

    I was totally expecting her to do some crazy trick shot on the billiards table rather than light a lighter.

    Anyway it’s nice to see technology used for non-depressing things.

      • Grass
        2·
        2 hours ago

        true, I was just distracted by the ever present table. Of course a billiards table also takes up a lot of space and it would be hard not to have it in the camera frame.

    • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.orgOPM
      1·
      16 hours ago

      You totally should hook up with Ian Davis. He’s trying to bring his mechanical hand to market as a kit and he’s been at it for years. If you have a metal 3D printer, I’m sure he’d love to work with you.

      • Orbituary@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        8 hours ago

        I have a high-end printer capable of using carbon fiber filament, though I bet PETG would be more than strong enough.

        • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.orgOPM
          1·
          8 hours ago

          Never underestimate an amputee’s ability to wear off and break any prosthesis 🙂 Nothing is strong enough to resist real life, heavy use multiple hours a day. Amputees don’t have the time or luxury to baby their prostheses: they need them to function and live an ordinary life. Prostheses get a real beating and making them last is a properly difficult engineering challenge.