The motor-powered ProDigits have been developed by Touch Bionics, the company which invented the bionic i-Limb hand.
The new invention can help people with up to five missing digits on a hand, whether from birth or because of an injury or medical condition.
Those fitted with the device can bend, touch, pick up and point, simple actions which can be difficult with absent fingers and thumbs.
Developers hope the device will be a boost to the partial hand amputee population, which is estimated at around 52,000 in the EU and 1.2 million worldwide.
Phil Newman, marketing director of Livingston-based Touch Bionics in West Lothian, said: “There has been no solution like this for the partial hand amputee community.
“The ProDigits provide a powered device with a grip and it has returned these people to a level of functionality and independence.
“It is supporting a community that has never had support before.”
It is estimated that a two-finger amputation leaves an individual with a 20%-40% hand impairment, depending on which fingers are affected.
The custom made ProDigits are fitted on to what remains of the hand, and can be controlled by myoelectric sensors which register muscle signals from the residual finger or palm.
Alternatively they can be controlled by a pressure sensitive touch pad, which relies on the remnant digit or tissue surrounding the metacarpal bone to provide the necessary pressure to activate the finger.
A special stall feature allows the device to detect when it has closed around an object so that it does not crush it.
This also allows users to point single digits and configure the hand in various grip patterns.
Patients can choose from a range of coverings, from hi-tech clear and black robotic skins to a more natural looking “livingskin” option.
One of those fitted with ProDigits is former concert pianist, Maria Antonia Iglesias, from Catalonia, who underwent amputation of all extremities following pneumococcal septic shock of unknown origin in July 2003.
They have enabled her to write, hold cutlery and drink from a glass again, tasks she previously struggled to do.
The 42-year-old said: “I am very pleased to be part of this project and the benefits my new hand is giving me are like a dream.
“Even a simple thing like holding and lifting a glass of water to drink from was impossible before, but with ProDigits I can do it easily.”
The ProDigits prosthetics are tailor-made for each patient and cost around £35,000 to £45,000, which includes the cost of fitting, occupational therapy and the skin covering.
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