In what is said to be the most advanced prothestic arm in the world, the Luke Arm, designed by Dean Kamen of DEKA Research and Development Corp. (DEKA) and inventor of the Segway, will be available later this year. Supported by funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and was under development for almost a decade, the Luke Arm will be having its commercial production after getting approval from the FDA in 2014.

With that announcement, SoldierStrong and Mobius Bionics have teamed up to provide the Luke Arm to veterans who have lost their upper limbs and are looking for corporate donations to enable them to distribute the prosthetic.

The project is something worthwhile to support as veterans who need prosthetics will have the best in the market. This allows them to do things that other prosthetics in the market are unable to provide.

Taking inspiration from the cybernetic hand that was installed on Luke Skywalker’s hand after losing his hand in a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader in the Empire Strikes Back, the Luke Hand enables a higher independence for people with forearm through shoulder-level amputations. It is a very flexible prosthetic that has the dexterity to do a lot of functions closer to a real hand.

Here are some of the features of the Luke Arm:

• A powered shoulder with the capability to reach overhead or behind the back
• A powered elbow with the strength to lift a bag of groceries from floor to tabletop
• A powered, multi-movement wrist with the precision, range of motion, and dexterity to hold a glass of water overhead or at waist level without spilling
• A hand with four independent motors and a conforming grip to hold everything from delicate items such as a phone or an egg to heavy items such as a gallon of milk without worrying that the item will slip or break
• An innovative grip-force sensor that senses how firmly something is being grasped and communicates that information to the user
• A variety of ways to control the arm, including electromyographic (EMG) electrodes and foot-mounted inertial measurement sensors
• Protection against water and dust – offering peace of mind when used inside and outside the home.

SoldierStrong will be depending on individual and corporate donations to be able to purchase Luke Arms, which I assume will be at a special price as agreed with Mobius Bionics. SoldierStrong is a not-for-profit organization established with the aim of providing advanced medical technologies to veterans.

“We developed the LUKE arm to change the game for amputees – creating an innovative, integrated system that offers greater functionality and independence to our wounded warriors and other amputees. We are excited to support SoldierStrong’s efforts to help provide the LUKE arm to veterans,” explained Dean Kamen, President of DEKA.

SoldierStrong’s co-founder and Chairman, Chris Meek, stated, "SoldierStrong is adding the LUKE arm to our expanding range of medical devices that we’re delivering to veterans. We are excited to support our veterans with upper-limb amputations by providing them with LUKE arms so that they can function more independently and have an improved quality of life.”

The efforts of SoldierStrong is highly commended and we encourage those who are concerned with veteran welfare to help support this project. One of the difficult situations for veterans when going back to civilian life is when they have disabilities caused by battle injury, affecting their productivity. To help them integrate again can be done by providing tools to enhance their usefulness, such as advanced prosthetics like the Luke Arm. It will really go a long way for the veterans who have served the country.