Man invents prosthetic arm for himself

"There was no option, I had to get out of there and work. I had the responsibility to go forward for everything my family did for me, as they never left me. In the hospital they told me that now the state would protect me, through help for people with disabilities. But I refused to conform".

Rafael started drawing, and with help from his uncle Brunell Rodríguez and Ortopedia Caracas, he made the first prototype. "My uncle showed me prosthetics that I did not know existed and with my knowledge of electronics that for the moment was very basic, I managed to make a small design that he did and at home, I opened a world of possibilities unimaginable".
 
The prosthetic arm, until completely finished, detects the myoelectric signals of the muscles and transforms them into electronic commands that give movement to different joints.

The device is not particularly refined. It has a piece in the prosthetic that helps the cellular technician to hold the items he needs to repair; a magnifying glass with a light designed to let Rafael see more closely those pieces and parts of a circuit; and a series of sensors near his collarbone that respond to the circular motions of his body and allow even greater mobility and precision. "In a hospital bed you have too much time to think,” the inventor explained. “Here, I devised a way to live and return to work.”

The model he designed earned him the National Prize for Invention Technological Popular "Luis Zambrano" 2014 with the prototype of a robotic arm disarticulated shoulder.

Adapted from: http://bit.ly/2rYn1Kq
https://youtu.be/suFdOkCQWZo