Touch and grab - with a bionic glove wins Peter Abolfathi
the 2004 British Council Eureka Prize for Inspiring Science

A revolutionary glove embedded with artificial muscles that can give movement back to people with paralysed hands won one of its designers, Peter Abolfathi, the $10,000 British Council Eureka Prize for Inspiring Science.

Hand function is one of the most important aspects of human independence but can be lost through spinal cord damage, stroke, surgery, burns or arthritis. Peter Abolfathi, a PhD student at the Quadriplegic Hand Research Unit at Royal North Shore Hospital, says this glove will help people with permanent movement-loss to perform daily functions most of us take for granted.

The glove will have immense benefit in rehabilitating patients who have temporarily lost hand function. The glove can also use its "smart muscles" to keep a damaged hand constantly and gently moving, reducing the risk of scar tissue growth which can permanently disable joints.

Woven into the glove are tendon-like cables activated by special embedded actuators that work together to mimic muscle and joint movement. The whole thing is controlled by a unique biofeedback system that allows coordinated movement of fingers for people with damaged or paralysed hands. This movement can be administered as a therapeutic exercise or in the case of paralysis for the grasp and release of objects.

Abolfathi is currently devising a portable control system to be worn on the body and says patients will eventually be able to activate the glove with just a shrug of their shoulders. "This will send a signal to the computer, which in turn will tell the hand to open and close," he says.

British Council Eureka Prize for Inspiring Science

The British Council Eureka Prize for Inspiring Science is awarded to a young Australian between the age of 18 and 35 for outstanding research, inventiveness, innovation or creativity that has demonstrably raised the profile of science, engineering or technology. Peter Abolfathi receives a $10,000 study tour to the United Kingdom organised by British Council Australia.

Finalists

Peter was one of three finalists competing for the British Council Eureka Prize for Inspiring Science. The two other finalists and their research were;

Dr Roger Chung
Research Fellow
School of Medicine
University of Tasmania

For investigative research that has identified the ability of a protein, normally found within the brain, called metallothionein, to dramatically promote brain healing following injury. This exciting discovery may lead to the future development of metallothionein-based therapeutics that might one day help people recover from brain trauma.

Dr Jeffrey Walker
Senior Lecturer
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Melbourne

For research which has pioneered an innovative use of remote sensing data that has brought soil moisture measurements to the forefront of science. Through application of data assimilation techniques not widely used in hydrologic modelling, the research has developed techniques for more accurately predicting the root zone soil moisture content.