Judge's comments:

The judges agreed this world-class piece of design that showcases New Zealand place as a global design-led innovator thoroughly deserved this year's Purple Pin. Deep of empathy for the user combined with world class engineering and manufacturing refinement means this product is a true life-changer. The judges were deeply impressed by the seamless blend of deep user research, empathetic design, and meticulous mechanical execution, resulting in an elegant and meaningful solution for the global market. The product's ability to mimic a human organic system at such a sophisticated level reflects the immense technical expertise behind its development, making it truly world-class and life-changing.

Description:

Myoelectric prosthetic hands are electro-mechanical hands controlled via user muscle inputs. First developed 40 years ago they have evolved from a simple open-close “claw” to multi-articulating devices that offer a user the ability to grasp objects allowing them to integrate back into society often following a traumatic and life changing event.

TASKA first entered the market in 2017 with its unique prosthetic hand solution, and since then has developed a reputation for a delivering positive outcomes for users. Subsequent to this, user insights, product insights, technological insights, and market demands created the opportunity to focus on a smaller size hand, catering to the female market and expanding into both the adolescent and Asian markets. These insights motivated TASKA to effectively start afresh with a clean sheet; to develop a new generation of hands designed to take the company forward.

The TASKA CX is the result of extensive user research and understanding, followed by a rigorous design process. The hand has an anatomical form that delivers a high performing, highly functional experience for modern lifestyles. The key aspects of the design that are novel in delivering a profound user experience include:

Enhanced waterproof: TASKA Prosthetics continue to disrupt the market by designing the first truly “water-proof” bionic hand - designed for life. This allows users to perform more activities of daily living such as washing hands or washing dishes and to do this with confidence that the hand is robust, reliable, and manufactured to do this day after day without the need for a protective glove or risk that the hand will be damaged.

Compliant fingers and knuckles: TASKA’s patented design allow fingers and knuckles to splay. This allows a more natural behaviour and is part of the solution, offering compliance, and delivering improvements in robustness and shock absorption. The key functional benefit of this is to allow users to achieve a more secure grip of objects, particularly cutlery and tools. This in turn gives them more confidence and allows them get back to tasks they enjoyed doing prior to their limb loss.

Capacitive touch: Todays modern lifestyle revolves around interfacing with digital devices such as phones, tablets, automotive dashboards, ATMs, etc. TASKA’s unique solution provides capacitive touch from any digit to interface with the device easily.

Integrated wrist rotation, flexion and extension: The secure 360 degree manual rotation of the new TASKA wrist design is an industry first. TASKA also supplies a wrist that flexes and be locked into a flexion, neutral or extension position. The user benefit of this is to allow secure grip and more natural movements when using everyday tools such as lawn mowers, home appliances or the humble yard broom.

Faster and stronger – more precision: Using the most advanced motor technology and control systems in the industry, TASKA CX hand provides a strong, secure grip on objects, and provides industry leading finger open/close speeds that better mimic natural body movement.

Design detail: Understanding the psychosocial needs of an amputee led to the pursuit of a design aesthetic that was bionic yet very humanistic in form. The pursuit of organic and clean forms with extreme focus on detail integration and smooth material transitions result in an elegance in simplicity as well as practicality of easy to clean surfaces that minimise dirt traps.

User Interface: TASKA pioneered an application that allows users to load and customise grips to their hand. TASKA has developed a library of 23 standard grips, but also give the user the ability to customise and load any grip to the hand depending on user need or specific task.

Since its launch in early 2023 the CX Small Hand has established itself as the market leading premium myo-electric prosthetic hand globally with wide acclaim from users and industry in terms of its beauty, appearance and also its performance. This delivers confidence to users and helps them return to their lifestyle and activities of everyday living.