British teenager Matthew James recently wrote a letter to Ross Brawn, the boss of the Mercedes GP Petronas F1 racing team, in which he asked for about $57,000 in order to pay for a high-tech artificial hand. Amazingly enough, the simple letter did the trick — and the 14-year-old is now the proud wearer of "the most advanced prosthetic limb in the world."
The Telegraph reports that James was born with a "congenital defect which meant his left arm only developed up to his wrist." As a result, he's been wearing an artificial limb with a basic clamp-like open-and-close mechanism for quite some time. Despite the prosthetic's limitations, the young man managed to participate in various activities — including karate and cricket — albeit with some struggle.
He kept wishing for a better limb though — something like those made by prosthetics maker Touch Bionics — but unfortunately his family was unable to afford it.
Eventually James had an idea. He sat down and drafted a letter to the boss of the Mercedes GP Petronas F1 racing team. In it he explained his situation and suggested that a sponsorship of sorts would help him greatly. If Mercedes were to cover the expenses associated with the new limb, the company could put its logo onto it — just like some companies put ads onto F1 cars.
And — as you already know — the letter worked. Someone at Mercedes was incredibly touched by James' letter and decided to reach out to Touch Bionics. Together the two companies designed a customized i-LIMB Pulse prosthetic for James. They call it "the most advanced prosthetic limb in the world" and it's understandable why:
The hand is so versatile Matthew can grip a pen to draw pictures and write, tie his shoe laces and catch a ball. The hand, made from high-grade plastic with a black silicone socket, literally plugs into Matthew's arm. Two electrodes on the inside of the socket detect electrical impulses made by the muscles in Matthew's lower arm. The signals are then beamed to a mini-computer in the palm which translates the messages into movements, replicating a normal hand.
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Each finger is powered by an individual motor which allows the digits to move independently. The hand is protected by an aluminium chassis-style casing which is capable of supporting a load of up to 90kg (14st). Amazingly, it is even fitted with Bluetooth technology to allow Matthew to hook up to a computer wirelessly to track the strength and speed of his movements.
James says the new limb feels "just like the real thing" and he wears it proudly — little Mercedes logo by the wrist and all.
It's worth noting that while Mercedes was not able to offer James all the funds necessary to pay for the prosthetic, the company is aiding him and his family in a fundraising effort. Touch Bionics contributed by fitting the hand and training James to use it — a process which would normally have cost over $40,000.
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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too.