A recent study concluded that adults with a brachial plexus injury can control an externally powered prosthetic hand using nonintuitive signals, simulating the restoration of grasp with a myoelectric prosthesis.
A multidisciplinary brachial plexus team assessed 58 adults with compromised hand function due to a brachial plexus injury. The team evaluated the feasibility of amputation coupled with fitting of a myoelectric prosthesis for grasp reconstruction and tested each participant’s ability to control a virtual or model prosthetic hand using surface electromyography (EMG) as well as with contralateral shoulder motion-activated linear transducer signals. The patient’s input and injury type, along with the information from the prosthetic evaluation, were used to determine the reconstructive plan.
The study also reviewed the number of participants opting for amputation and a myoelectric prosthetic hand for grasp restoration, and a follow-up survey was conducted to assess the impact of the initial evaluation on decision-making.
Of 58 subjects evaluated, 47 (81 percent) had a pan-plexus brachial plexus injury, and 42 (72 percent) received their initial assessment within one year after injury. Forty-seven patients (81 percent) could control the virtual or model prosthetic hand using nonintuitive surface EMG signals, and all 58 could control it with contralateral uniscapular motion via a linear transducer and harness.
Thirty patients (52 percent) chose and pursued amputation, and 20 (34 percent) actively used a myoelectric prosthesis for grasp.
The study, “Evaluating the ability of brachial plexus-injured patients to control an externally powered (myoelectric) hand prosthesis,” was published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
