A South African teenager has scooped second prize at the prestigious 2020 Taiwan International Science Fair (TISF) for her already award-winning prosthetic invention.

Farida Cajee, a matric pupil at Hoërskool Schweizer-Reneke in the North West, won the award in Taipei in February.

She had previously won the 2019 Eskom Expo for Young Scientists with her mind-controlled, 3-D printed prosthetic hand.

Cajee, 18, created the cost-effective hand from plastic bottles and intends for it to be used for amputees who cannot afford more expensive prosthetic versions.

Her invention is connected to an electroencephalograph headset that measures brainwaves. That way, the prosthetic limb can be mind-controlled, translating brain signals into movements.

In an interview with News24 in 2019, the teen scientist said the idea came to her when she had to prepare for the 2019 Eskom Expo for Young Scientists.

She said the main goal of the project was to lower medical costs, as prosthetic limbs were among the most expensive medical needs in the country.

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