Finally, a Bionic Hand Designed for Women

Nicky Ashwell, 29, became the first woman to receive a bionic hand designed for women through UK-based prosthetic company bebionic. The hand, called the bebionic small, is a 30 percent smaller version of the company's original bebionic hand and is designed for women, teenagers and smaller men. The company claims it doesn't lose any functionality despite the miniaturization.

From the feeling of phantom limbs to having to deal with the prohibitive —though that's changing these days through 3D printing—of buying a highly-developed prosthetic limb, amputees face a litany of challenges long after wounds have healed.

With more advanced prosthetics, at least some amputees are able to regain more normal-functioning limbs. But the operative word here is "some"—most prosthetics are modeled for average-sized men. As Rose Eveleth wrote for Motherboard earlier this year, ill-fitting prosthetics are a major concern for women amputees.

But thankfully, this is the future, where there are more better ways to address the problem than saying "deal with it." Hopefully soon there'll be cheaper options as well.