• Question: how do u make metal hands to work and fit on to another persons body if tissues need to be connected and how do they operate

    Asked by caseywstdominics to Chung Han on 12 Jun 2018.
    • Photo: Chung Han Chua

      Chung Han Chua answered on 12 Jun 2018:


      Lots of questions there!
      All prosthetic hands that you can purchase now make use of an arm attachment called a socket. These sockets “grab” areas of the residual limb of a patient, either through a tight fit or using suction. They are also lined with a soft material inside to make it feel more comfortable.
      Most electrical prosthetics make use of a device called myoelectric sensors, these are able to sense the electrical signals in the muscles of the forearm. Different signals can then trigger different motions of the prosthetics. So there is no direct interaction of the prosthetic hand and the patient’s tissues (for now!)

      There is some new work being done, where they are restructuring nerves to directly connect to a prosthetic hand. The base of the hand joins directly into a bone on the arm.

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