Restoring natural upper limb movement through a wrist prosthetic module for partial hand amputees.
Seoyoung Choi, Wonwoo Cho, Keehoon Kim
PMID 37798778WHAT IT FOUND
For one partial hand amputee, total Jebsen-Taylor time was lower with the Re-fill prosthetic hand and wrist rotation module, 331.46 seconds, than without the module, 516.37 seconds, but still longer than the intact hand, 73.33 seconds.
Key findings
01In the single amputee, total Jebsen-Taylor time was 331.46 seconds with the prosthetic hand and wrist rotation module and 516.37 seconds with the prosthetic hand without the module.
02The control group and the amputee with the wrist rotation module both had 3 muscle synergies, while the amputee without the module had two.
03Motion analysis found statistically significant differences between the with-module and without-module conditions in shoulder abduction/adduction, shoulder internal/external rotation, wrist flexion/extension, and wrist pronation/supination.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study included only one partial hand amputee, so it cannot show how most amputees would respond. The comparison group was healthy subjects, not amputees using the same prosthetic hand, so the movement differences may reflect amputation, prosthetic use, or the task rather than the module alone. The without-module condition had only two muscle synergies, so its synergy vectors could not be compared with the control group or the with-module condition. The paper does not report randomisation, blinding, or a statistical test for the total Jebsen-Taylor improvement. The prosthesis was controlled by keyboard input rather than myoelectric control, which may change how muscle activity is interpreted. The Jebsen-Taylor test measures completion time and allows trunk and shoulder compensation, so a faster total time may not mean better hand movement quality. The authors state the module operates only on/off and that more amputees and varied tasks are needed.
Declared interests
Funded by the Korean government (MSIT) and the National Research Foundation of Korea. The paper does not report author conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the wrist rotation module improves daily activities or restores natural movement for partial hand amputees. The result comes from one amputee wearing the Re-fill prosthetic hand with keyboard input, and the without-module condition could not be compared on muscle synergy.