April 20, 2009
A Finnish computer programmer who lost a finger in a motorcycle accident had it replaced with a USB drive.
Jerry Jalava built a special prosthetic finger which contains computer storage for photos, movies and other useful files.
It looks like a normal finger but he can peel it back from the 'nail' and plug it into the USB slot on his computer, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The software developer, from Helsinki, lost his finger last summer after crashing his one week old Ducati Monster 696 motorbike.
He was rushed to Helsinki Hospital where he was examined by a hand surgeon who said they were unable to save it and amputated half of the finger.
When Jerry told doctors what he did for a living they joked he should have a USB 'finger drive' but that was good enough for him, and he set about making one.
He embedded a USB key in a traditional prosthetic finger giving him the world's only two gigabyte finger.
The finger is not permanently attached to his hand meaning it can be removed when plugged into a computer.
"It is not attached permanently in to my body, it is a removable prosthetic which has a USB memorystick inside it," said Jerry.
"When I'm using the USB, I just leave my finger inside the slot and pick it up after I'm ready."
