Managed Care - July 2010 - (Page 45)
TOMORROW’S MEDICINE Prosthetic Hand Provides Nearly Normal Function It might seem to be straight out of science fiction, but there’s solid science and engineering behind it Thomas Morrow, MD he hand is an engineering marvel. It can The technology behind these prosthetic deextend a finger to use an ATM, securely vices originated in 1963 at the Princess Margaret hold a toddler’s hand to cross a busy Rose Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland as a comstreet, hold and turn a key, pick up a foam cup, passionate response to children affected by the and lift a heavy piece of luggage. devastating side effects of thalidomide, which Close your eyes. Imagine the loss of your caused birth defects and limb deformities. hand, especially your dominant hand. How Touch Bionics emerged from this effort. Now, would your life change? What would you feel? How would you function? About 25,000 people will lose a hand this year. An additional 61,000 will lose one or more fingers. Roughly 100,000 people in the United States live with an upper extremity amputation. The technology that seeks to replace the amazing function of the hand has been relatively stagnant for hundreds of years. Some of us remember the TV series from the mid 1970s called The Six Million Dollar Man. Or the Star Wars series where, in a fight with Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker’s hand was severed — to More reality than science fiction, the i-LIMB Pulse be replaced by a bionic hand that worked restores nearly full functionality. just as well. But for the contemporary amputee, all that is typically offered is a hook or after nearly a half-century of work, a truly a cosmetic but nonfunctional replacement. amazing, fully functional hand, the i-LIMB Pulse, consisting of five independently powTechnology marches on ered digits that open and close around objects That has changed. Technology has advanced in an almost miraculous way, is available. so far in the past several decades with the advent This hand can perform the basic functions: of microprocessors, sensors, high-strength plaskey grip, precision pinch (picking up small obtics, and battery capacity that we really do have jects), finger pointing (touch pad, ATM), power a functional equivalent to Luke Skywalker regrip (fully closed grip for picking up cans, shopceiving a new hand. And it is not science fiction ping bags, spherical grasp (holding an apple), and it is not experimental. . . . It is real! hook grip (suitcase or duffel bag), and palmar grasp (reading a book). Sensors in the prosThomas Morrow, MD, is the immediate past presithetic socket contact at very specific points on dent of the National Association of Managed Care the remaining portion of the arm to provide Physicians. He has 24 years of managed care experience control of the hand. These points correspond to at the payer or health plan level. Contact him at parts of the original muscles that powered the TMorrow@ManagedCareMag.com fingers of the hand. The prosthesis is attached T JULY 2010 / MANAGED CARE 45
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