First woman to receive most advanced bionic hand

A Fort Lauderdale, Florida, woman is the first female patient to receive the most technologically advanced prosthetic hand on the market.

"I feel empowered. I walk into a room and I used to try to blend in - I don't need to blend in now," Lizbeth Uzcategui, who was born without a right arm below her elbow, told CBS Miami's Natalia Zea. "I want everybody to know what this is all about. I cannot wait to learn about all the other things I'm going to be capable of doing."

The precise and programmable prosthetic hand, called the i-limb quantum, is made by a company called Touch Bionics. It uses signals from the remaining limb muscles, sent through electrodes attached to the skin, to control movements. Muscle contractions are picked up by those electrodes, which signal the hand to open or close. The hand is further controlled through Bluetooth technology via a smartphone or desktop app.

The black, anatomical hand has up to 36 different grip patterns that can be changed using simple gestures. It also allows users to program favorite grips, use individual fingers and view their muscle signals on a graph.

"This is the latest and greatest in upper extremity prosthetic hands. It's quicker, it's faster, it's lighter and smaller," Matthew Klein of the Hanger Clinic in Tamarac, Florida, told CBS News Miami. He said the i-limb quantum is top of the line with a price tag to match -- about $90,000 -- and many insurance companies do not cover the cost.

The hand can help with everything from eating to driving to reading. The company says both the finger-moving speed and the power can be boosted by 30 percent when needed. They say training and regular occupational therapy are important because learning to master the advanced prosthesis can be challenging.

Uzcategui said previous prosthetic hands she's used couldn't keep up with her demands. "I would always get frustrated, like why not me? Why can't I?" she said.

The i-limb quantum is one of a few prosthetics that comes in a range of sizes to accommodate men, women children.

"It's the first time, all this wonderful technology, they've been able to compress it into this small hand," she said.

Uzcategui said she is so happy with her new hand, she plans to walk down the aisle wearing her white wedding dress and her new, stunningly high-tech black arm.