A Sixth Digit Worn Like a Ring — Brilliant!


Sixthdigitweb

In March, Josh Smith, a recently paralyzed engineer, launched a successful Kickstarter campaign for the Sixth Digit, one of the smartest products I’ve ever seen for quads. It is essentially an artificial steel finger you wear like a ring, and it’s available for a $20 donation to Josh’s Kickstarter page.

For years of living with quadriplegia, I tried to think of a solution that would allow me to use my hands more, but have always came up empty. There are products like the tenodesis split for those who have wrist movement to help them move their fingers, but to create what is essentially a tiny prosthetic finger is brilliant.

In some ways the Sixth Digit is a better finger because it’s made of steel (hey, you can’t burn that). It doesn’t move, granted, but it’s little, short and worn on the outside of the hand, helping with tasks like typing, answering the phone, hitting dials on the microwave or stove and anything else you can dream of. You can also wear it while pushing your manual chair as it doesn’t get in the way because it’s not that long.

Luckily, other people with spinal cord injuries have seen the brilliance of this product and successfully funded the Kickstarter project in April. Great news!

You’ve got to love the Internet, allowing such products like this to see the light of day. Before funding sites like Kickstarter, products like this may have gotten off the ground, and if they did, they’d be outrageously over-priced. With the near $9,000 Josh Smith received from his Kickstarter project, he can now offer the Sixth Digit at a reasonable price: A $20 donation.

Orders are now being taken and shipped, so if you’re a quadriplegic interested in this product, now is high time to make this sweet little finger yours. To order and learn more, you can check it out at Sixth Digit.

Have you tried the Sixth Digit?


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Paula
8 years ago

I would like information on ordering the sixth digit. Can someone give me some insight on this?