Taska Hand Open Palm

Prosthetic Technology

Devices, materials and other options to maximize your rehabilitation potential

Passive

Solutions for both form and function.
Passive

Body-Powered

Durable and functional solutions for working in rugged or wet environments.
Body-Powered

Myoelectric

Electrically-powered devices that are controlled using muscle impulses from the residual limb.
Myoelectric

Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR)

A leading edge medical procedure that enables more precise control of myoelectric devices.
TMR

Osseointegration

A new surgical procedure that enables amputees to attach a prosthesis directly to the bone of their residual limb.
Osseointegration

LUKE Arm

The only commercially-available prosthesis with a powered shoulder, allowing a shoulder-level amputee to reach over their head.
LUKE arm

Passive Prosthetic Devices

The latest passive prosthetic technologies offer improvements in function and appearance. Some of the available options are:

Custom silicone restorations

These cosmetic prostheses are made from a clear silicone glove that is painted by an artist to perfectly match your existing skin tone, body hair, freckles, and other natural features - tattoos and other unique artwork can also be included for even greater individual expression. Our prosthetic artists have many years of experience in this unique and meticulous type of painting.
  • Arm Dynamics patient before silicone restoration
  • Arm Dynamics patient after silicone restoration
  • Arm Dynamics patient before silicone restoration of index finger
  • Arm Dynamics patient after silicone restoration of index finger
  • Arm Dynamics artist painting a custom silicone restoration prosthesis
  • Arm Dynamics artist matching skin tone on a custom silicone restoration prosthesis
  • Completed silicone restoration prosthesis
  • Custom silicone restoration prosthesis with tattoo decoration
  • Arm Dynamics silicone restoration prosthesis holding a child's hand

Multi-positional joints

By including multi-positional joints in a passive prosthesis, the wearer can use their sound hand to position the shoulder, elbow, wrist or fingers of the prosthesis to make it easier for them to hold or carry something. Multi-positional fingers can restore the ability to grasp small objects like cups, cans, pan handles, or even the hand of a loved one.
  • Arm Dynamics multi-positional joints
  • Arm Dynamics patient working with multi-positional joints prosthesis
  • Arm Dynamics occupational therapist instruction patient how to properly use her multi-positional joints prosthesis
  • Arm Dynamics patient using his multi-positional joints prosthesis to hold a cup of cofee

Point Digit

ratchetingRecently released by Point Designs for partial hand and finger amputees, the ratcheting Point Digit is a robust, articulating prosthetic finger with a high-tech metallic appearance. They are typically mounted onto a carbon fiber shell with a soft silicone inner socket, and can replace up to four fingers on a single hand. The user positions Point Digits by pushing the fingertips against a firm surface into the degree of flexion needed for a specific object or task. Point Digits may be combined with a custom silicone restoration so that they look and move like real skin - bending smoothly with the joints of the fingers.
Point Digit demonstration video
Point Digit
Demonstration Video
Click to play

Titan titanium fingers

Titan fingers are another passive technology that makes it easier for a person with partial or total loss of a finger to hold or carry something by manually positioning the device's joint to the desired level of flexion. The Titan is very durable and comes in a variety of sizes to meet the needs of each individual patient.titan

Naked Prosthetics GripLock Finger™

The GripLock Finger™ is Naked Prosthetics’ elegant solution for amputations proximal to the MCP joint. Serviceable nylon fairings and silicone pads provide seamless aesthetics and improved grip stability while also preventing scratch damage to sensitive surfaces and objects handled by the user. The GripLock Finger™ structure is a combination of machined aluminum and heat treated and case-hardened stainless steel.GripLock Finger

 

Body-Powered Prosthetic Devices
Arm Dynamics patient Eduardo Garcia wearing his body powered prosthesis
Arm Dynamics technician discussing body powered prosthesis with patient
Body Powered Terminal Device

Body-powered prostheses are useful tools that can restore the ability to pick up and grasp objects and assist the user’s sound hand.

Movements of the upper arm, shoulder and chest are captured by the harness and cable system, and used to open and close the hook or hand, similar to how a bicycle handbrake system works. As users grow accustomed to the feeling of varying tension on the cable, they may experience an improved sense of the position of the limb and the degree of opening on the terminal device. Hooks can be made of aluminum, steel, or titanium and can be rubber lined for better gripping. The grip force of a voluntary opening hook is determined by the number of rubber bands holding the hook closed.

The components of a body-powered prosthesis include:

  • A custom fit socket
  • A terminal device such as a hook or hand
  • A wrist unit
  • A harness and cable system
  • Above elbow prostheses will include an elbow unit
  • Shoulder disarticulation prostheses will include an elbow and a shoulder

Many amputees like the durability and basic function of body-powered prostheses and find them particularly useful for working outdoors or in rugged or wet environments. A custom silicone interface can improve user comfort and is available in a wide range of colors.

Myoelectric Technology
Arm Dynamics patient testing electrode placement for myoelectric prosthesis
Arm Dynamics patient and clinician testing myoelectric pickup sites

Myoelectric upper limb technologies use electrical signals generated by muscles in the residual limb to control the movements of a prosthesis. When the user contracts certain muscles, surface electrodes in the socket detect the muscle signals and send them to a controller, which triggers tiny, battery-powered motors to move the fingers, hand, wrist or elbow.

The advantages of myoelectric prostheses include more intuitive control of the prosthesis, increased grip strength, access to multiple grip patterns and more natural hand movements.

Myoelectric technologies are available for all levels of upper limb loss. 

Myoelectric Fingers

Electric finger solutions for those with finger amputations consist of individually-powered prosthetic fingers that can bend, touch, pick up and point. Electric finger solutions are custom built to replace any missing fingers and work in harmony with any remaining fingers.
  • Arm Dynamics patient with myoelectric finger prosthesis
  • Arm Dynamics patient using his myoelectric finger prosthesis to write
  • I-Digits

Myoelectric Hands

Multi-articulating myoelectric hands are available from a variety of manufacturers in multiple sizes and configurations. Some of the most popular devices are:

  • The Taska Hand
  • The bebionic
  • The i-limb
  • The Michelangelo Hand
  • Arm Dynamics patient tying his shoe with a myoelectric hand prosthesis
  • Arm Dynamics patient working with his myoelectric hand prostheses
  • Arm Dynamics bilateral amputee patient with his daughter
  • Arm Dynamics bilateral amputee with two myoelectric hand prostheses

Myoelectric Arms and Elbows

Dynamic Arm Elbow

Arm Dynamics patient wearing a Dynamic Arm ElbowThe DynamicArm Elbow prosthesis incorporates a powerful electric motor in combination with the Vario Drive clutch to help with flexion and extension of the elbow and can hold up to 11 pounds. It pairs with the SensorHand Speed prosthetic hand and features an Automatic Forearm Balance system that spares energy and makes the prothesis look and feel more natural.

Utah Arm

The sturdy Utah 3 provides simultaneous electronic control of the hand and elbow, effortless extension of the elbow, a free-swing mode, optional wrist rotation, and is available in jet black, tan and brown.

The Utah Arm 3+ offers the same features as the Utah 3 with the addition of the "Dual Lock System," silent free-swing and Bluetooth wireless communication.
Arm Dynamics occupational therapist working with a patient wearing a Utah Arm prosthesis
Arm dynamics patient at work with his Utah Arm prosthesis

Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR)
Targeted Muscle Reinnervation overview

Targeted muscle reinnveration, usually referred to as "TMR" is a complicated surgical procedure for high level arm amputees that takes nerves previously dedicated to hand, wrist or elbow motion, and rewires them into adjacent muscles, dramatically amplifying the nerve signals with the goal of providing users with "thought control" of their myoelectric prosthesis.

Current myoelectric prostheses for above-elbow and shoulder disarticulation levels provide up to three degrees of freedom:

  1. Flexing and extending the elbow
  2. Turning the wrist in or out
  3. Opening and closing the hand or electronic terminal device

These motions are typically controlled one at a time by electrical signals from one or two muscle sites (known as "EMG sites") in the residual limb or upper shoulder area.

TMR surgery creates additional EMG sites that are controlled with distinct and intuitive muscle contractions, some of which can occur simultaneously and with less mental effort. When combined with occupational therapy, the result is a high level of intuitive control, which can significantly enhance the functional use of the prosthesis.

This enhanced functionality is even more important now that prosthetic researchers and manufacturers are investing tremendous effort into creating additional degrees of freedom in prosthetic systems, which will require additional EMG sites to fully realize their increasing complexity and capability.

Osseointegration

Osseointegration(OI) is a surgical procedure that enables amputees to attach a prosthesis directly to the bone of their residual limb with a titanium implant, eliminating the need for a socket.
Arm Dynamics prosthetist speaking with an osseointegration amputee at Arm Dynamics' upper limb prosthetic symposium event
Osseointegration amputee participating in Arm Dynamics' upper limb prosthetic symposium
Osseointegration patient presenting at Arm Dynamics' upper limb prosthetic symposium

By making it possible to safely attach a prosthetic limb directly to the body without the need for a socket, OI is improving the lives of amputees around the world through the comfort and natural movement of an OI prosthesis.

While OI has been performed in Europe for several years, it has only recently become available in the U.S. after receiving limited approval by the FDA

This limited approval only allows military veterans with lower limb loss to undergo OI surgery at this time, but we're keeping a close eye on these developments so that when this promising new technology becomes more widely available, our patients will be among the first to benefit.

LUKE Arm

The LUKE arm, by Mobius Bionics, is the most advanced prosthesis on the market and the only commercially-available prosthesis with a powered shoulder (up to 10 powered joints), allowing a shoulder-level amputee to reach over their head.

Arm Dynamics recently conducted one of the first ever civilian test-fittings of the LUKE arm. Our patient, Steve Brown, was amazed by the LUKE arm’s intuitive motion-control interface and its unique ability to reach out and grasp things above the shoulder (something that's impossible with existing high-level prosthetic arms). According to Steve, the Luke Arm, “…will be life changing for the future of those with upper limb loss.”

The Luke Arm has an intuitive wireless foot control system called an “IMU” that’s placed on the user’s shoes and reads the tilt of the foot to interpret each movement and control the functions of the arm. The wrist fluidly combines the flexion and extension with ulnar and radial deviation which allows users to grasp objects above the head or below the waist while keeping the hand level. Grip options for the hand include power grip, tool grip, fine pinch closed, fine pinch open, lateral pinch and chuck grip.