RFID Technology Moves Prosthetic Hands

Sean McHugh lost his right hand and part of his forearm in a construction accident 11 years ago. Today he wears a high-tech prosthetic arm with a sophisticated multi-articulated hand. Now the way it usually works is electrodes in the arm socket pick up movements of certain muscles and that moves the hand. But it didn’t work for McHugh. I was never really good, even with the best of training and working with some of the most wonderful occupational therapists. That’s where RFID, radio frequency identification, comes in. During World War II, all aircraft, friend or foe, looked the same on a radar screen. So, the British installed small transmitters that when hit by a radio signal from the ground, would bounce back a signal that identified the plane. That’s considered the genesis of RFID. Today it’s in the barcodes at the grocery store. wireless tracking of packages and more.