User surveys support designing a prosthetic wrist that incorporates the Dart Thrower's Motion.
Matthew Davidson, Cathy Bodine, Richard F Ff Weir
PMID 29514521WHAT IT FOUND
People with trans-radial prosthetic wrists reported lower satisfaction and higher difficulty with Dart Thrower's Motion tasks, and interviewees wanted a wrist that adds this motion even if it is more complex.
Key findings
01Participants rated satisfaction for tasks that use the Dart Thrower's Motion lower than for tasks that do not use it.
02Body-powered device users and participants with acquired amputation also reported significantly higher difficulty performing tasks that use the Dart Thrower's Motion than tasks that do not.
03All participants said they would be willing to use a more complicated control system for better functionality, and all said a device incorporating the Dart Thrower's Motion would be useful and worth the complexity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 23 adults were surveyed, and they were self-selected from email and website forums, so stronger opinions may be overrepresented. Participants were active at least 4 hours per week and had trans-radial amputation, so the findings may not apply to less active people or other limb levels. The survey was not fully validated in a larger population, and an iterative pilot test was not feasible. No prosthetic wrist was built or tested, so this reports user opinions and survey ratings, not demonstrated benefit of a device. Some participants said they were satisfied because they used compensatory motions or avoided tasks, which can mask difficulty.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that a Dart Thrower's Motion prosthetic wrist improves function. No device was tested, and the findings are self-reported survey opinions from 23 adults.