Burn survivor enrolls in Nanjing, attempting to create robotic hand

A man left with only one finger due to severe burns suffered in a childhood accident registered to study at Southeast University in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Thursday. According to the Yangtse Evening Post, Fang Yifan aspires to create his own robotic hand in the future.

Fang, who was born in 2007 in Chizhou, Anhui province, will study in the Engineering Experimental Class at Southeast University, majoring in Intelligent Manufacturing and Intelligent Systems. Before the start of the new school year, he received an invitation from the robot rehabilitation robotics group at the university to try out the "myoelectric interaction controlled dexterous hand".

"The cold mechanical arm seems to have formed some kind of connection with me," Fang said after tying to clench his fist, open it and rotate his wrist with the help of the machine. With the help of such technology, Fang, who previously could only write using his arms, might once more feel the power of his hand.

At the start of 2010, when Fang was only three-years-old, he suffered an accident that resulted in severe burns over 68 percent of his body. Between 2010 and 2018, Fang underwent the ordeal of 23 separate surgeries.

In this year's national college entrance exam, Fang achieved an inspirational score of 664 and was admitted to Southeast University.

The research team at Southeast University intends to offer Fang assistance in developing and creating his own prosthetic limb, while making further efforts to design and manufacture prosthetics with better compatibility and comfort for more and more people.

"I will study hard in the university and grasp my life through my own efforts," added Fang.