The field of upper extremity prosthetics is a constantly changing arena as researchers and prosthetists strive to bridge the gap between prosthetic reality and upper limb physiology. With the further development of implantable neurologic sensing devices and targeted muscle innervation (discussed elsewhere in this issue), the challenge of limited input to control vast outputs promises to become ...

OBJECTIVE Warfighters who sustained combat amputations in Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) have unique challenges during rehabilitation. This study followed their outcomes. METHODS Subjects were 382 U.S. warfighters with major limb amputations after combat injury in OEF/OIF between 2001 and 2005. Outcome measures were diagnoses, treatment codes, and personnel ev...

A group of 158 service members who sustained major limb amputations during the global war on terrorism were surveyed on their satisfaction with the quality of care received from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) Amputee Clinic from the time of their injury to their inpatient discharge. Of these participants, 96% were male, 77% were Caucasian, 89% were enlisted personnel, and 68% had s...

Stump length is an important factor in attaining successful prosthetic rehabilitation in below-knee (BK) amputees. Stability of the stump-prosthesis complex is impaired in the case of a stump shorter than 10 cm. Thus, fitting a prosthesis to a BK amputee with a stump which is very short often requires the use of different prosthetic techniques. In this work, the authors suggest the use of a Swe...

A post-clinical investigation has been carried out among 42 unilateral amputees who lost their hand due to an accident. The investigation was directed at two main topics of interest. Firstly the amputee, the problems he has to cope with, and the role the prosthesis plays in his life; and secondly the prosthesis, its use and its potential benefits and burdens. The group of amputees consisted of ...

OBJECTIVE To analyze hospitalization for lower extremity amputations (LEAs) and amputee rates in persons with and without diabetes in Italy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS All patients with LEAs in the period 2001-2010 were identified analyzing the National Hospital Discharge Record database. For each year, amputee and hospitalization rates for LEAs were calculated either for persons with diabet...

Technology[1] Technology[1]Inventions [2]Robots [3]The Body [4]Denmark [5]Videnskab.dk [6] A new hand prosthesis enables an amputee to feel a handshake for the first time in years. A quantum leap in prosthesis research, says scientist. Scientists have created a hand prosthesis that not only receives and responds to brain signals, but also sends information back to the brain. This means, for ins...

Robotic lower limb prostheses can improve the quality of life for amputees. Development of such devices, currently dominated by long prototyping periods, could be sped up by predictive simulations. In contrast to some amputee simulations which track experimentally determined non-amputee walking kinematics, here, we explicitly model the human-prosthesis interaction to produce a prediction of the...

Amputee soccer is one of the types of soccer designed for the disabled, especially those who have undergone amputations, as well as those with extremity dysfunction. The objective of the study was to find the relationship between hand grip strength and sprint time in amputee soccer players. Thirteen field amputee soccer players participated in the study. A SAEHAN hydraulic hand dynamometer manu...

This paper reports an evaluation of 132 patients seen at the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre amputee programme during a 24-month period, carried out to evaluate the programme's effectiveness. In addition to a review of charts, a questionnaire was used (85% return rate) to help determine functional outcomes. The patient profile revealed a 3.4:1 male-to-female ratio and an average age of 64.8 +...