Twenty-five years ago, the carrier of the famous Brazilian pianist Joao Carlos Martinez ended abruptly. His hands have been sensitive since his childhood injury in football, but he completely lost the ability to play piano after the attack on the street. Due to head and brain injuries he suffered from the robber, he lost the full mobility of his right arm. Martinez developed a muscle disorder that causes involuntary movements in a certain muscle group. Although he didn't leave the world of music, become conductor, the pianist never could play this instrument again.
Already retired, Martinez didn't expect much when he was invited by the designer Ubiratan Bizarro Kosta, also resident of Sao Paulo. The old man didn't place much hope in the idea of the very persistent Kosta, nor did he believe that his idea would give back what he had lost. But he agreed to cooperate. Costa wanted to make biotic gloves that work like an exoskeleton and cancel signal's that (don't) come from the brain. At first he he worked according to the pictures of Martinez's fists, but it became clear to him that without a man in front of him he wouldn't be able to realize his idea.
He found inspiration in an unexpected source, "Formula 1". He made neoprene gloves and lightweight carbon fiber levers that give the glove strength (the same material is used to make gloves for drivers in both auto and motorcycle sports). These levers have another purpose - to raise their fingers again after they press the button. An additional advantage of the present invention is that it can be produced in its entirety on a 3D printer. Joao Martinez cried when, for the first time in a quarter of a century, he could play the piano using all ten fingers.
Martinez stated that despite his age (80), he feels like an eight-year-old who is still struggling with racing and playing techniques. But that will not stop him from enjoying the great gift that Bizarro Costa brought him. That gift is worth much more than about a hundred US dollars, as much as the production of this pair of "bionic extensions" cost, as Costa intends to call his product. This simple invention could restore strength to many tormented fingers.
The famous Brazilian pianist had come to terms with fact that he would no longer play again, but then his fellow citizen called him. Joao Martinez's finger are reunited with races that mean life to him, thank to the nobility and dedication of Bizarro Costa in making an exoskeleton that doesn't cost too much. The greatest price archived in this case is a smile on the face of an exceptional artist who turns his talent into reality again and that philanthropy always wins, shines and forces us to create a new, better world.
Literature and images: Politica's Entertainer, rubric Inventions, discoveries, achievements, number 3590, page 8.
Wow. Those are some great pianists