OANDP-L
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
The O&P EDGE
  • PECOS
  • Magazine
    • Subscription
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • News Archive
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Advertising Information
    • EDGE Flipbooks
  • O&P Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • EDGE Advantage
    • EA Homepage
    • EA Data
  • O&P Facilities
  • Resources
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Calendar
    • Contact
    • About Us
    • O&P Library
    • The Guide
    • Custom Publications
    • Advertising Information
    • EDGE Direct
    • Amplitude Media Group
  • PECOS
  • Magazine
    • Subscription
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • News Archive
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Advertising Information
    • EDGE Flipbooks
  • O&P Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • EDGE Advantage
    • EA Homepage
    • EA Data
  • O&P Facilities
  • Resources
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Calendar
    • Contact
    • About Us
    • O&P Library
    • The Guide
    • Custom Publications
    • Advertising Information
    • EDGE Direct
    • Amplitude Media Group
No Result
View All Result
The O&P EDGE Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home News

New Upper-Limb Prosthesis Users Learn Best From Similar Users

by The O&P EDGE
October 9, 2015
in News
0
SHARES
7
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) measured arm movements and analyzed brain patterns to determine how new upper-limb prosthesis users best learn to use their prostheses and found that they learned better from someone who also used an upper-limb prosthesis. The authors said that it is the first study to use a unique combination of neurophysiological and task performance methods to investigate prosthetic device training strategies from a cognitive motor control perspective. The results could help reduce the rate at which people with upper-limb amputations reject prosthetic devices.


Participants wearing a prosthesis were tasked with turning over a block. Photograph courtesy of Georgia Tech.

Participants were people without amputations who donned specially adapted split-hook prosthetic devices to simulate the wrist and forearm movement that people with transradial limb loss experience. Each participant wore movement sensors on his or her elbow and an EEG cap. On the first day of the five-day training and research process, participants performed tasks with the device, such as rotating a block, flipping a spatula, and writing. For the next three days, they watched 30-second videos of someone demonstrating the same tasks. The person shown in the video either wore the same device (a matched limb) or didn’t wear anything on his or her arm (a mismatched limb). On the fifth day, participants tried each task again.

“Those who watched a matched-limb participant did significantly better after three days of training,” said Lewis Wheaton, PhD, an associate professor in the School of Applied Physiology who led the study and directs Georgia Tech’s Cognitive Motor Control Lab. “Their arm movements were more consistent and fluid when they repeated the task. Those who only watched someone without a prosthesis didn’t improve at all.”

The matched-limb participants showed greater engagement of motor-related areas while mismatched-limb participants showed greater engagement of the parieto-occipital system. Matched-limb participants also showed lower movement variability. The results indicate that the type of limb imitated influences neural and behavioral strategies for novel prosthetic device usage, and that common prosthetic rehabilitation with therapists who don’t have amputations may exacerbate challenges in adapting to new motor patterns demanded by prosthesis use. “When amputees watch someone without a prosthesis, it seems that their brain is more concerned with what it’s seeing, rather than concentrating on how to actually do the task,” said Wheaton.

Wheaton is now repeating the study with people who have amputations. Additional steps will attempt to determine whether the results are consistent with different types of prostheses for other parts of the body.

The study was published online October 5 in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.

Editor’s note: This story was adapted from materials provided by Georgia Tech.

Related posts:

  1. Survey Says? Findings From the Field’s Largest Study of People With Upper-limb Amputations
  2. New Upper-Limb Prosthesis Users Learn Best From Similar Users
  3. Losses Beyond the Limb
  4. Examining the Uses of Virtual Reality in Prosthetic Rehabilitation
Previous Post

Undersea Robotic Finger Could Advance Prostheses

Next Post

New Upper-Limb Prosthesis Users Learn Best From Similar Users

Next Post

New Upper-Limb Prosthesis Users Learn Best From Similar Users

Linkedin X-twitter Facebook

VIEW CURRENT ISSUE

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE

 

RECENT NEWS

Get unlimited access!

Join EDGE ADVANTAGE and unlock The O&P EDGE's vast library of archived content.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY

O&P JOBS

Central

ABC Certified or Board Eligible Orthotist/Prosthetist

Pacific

Pediatric Orthotic & Prosthetic Clinician Department of Orthopaedic Surgery – UCSF

Eastern

CERTIFIED ORTHOTIC FITTER

The O&P EDGE Magazine
 
Required 'Candidate' login to applying this job. Click here to logout And try again
 

Login to your account

  • Forgot Password? | Sign Up

Reset Password

  • Already have an account? Login

Enter the username or e-mail you used in your profile. A password reset link will be sent to you by email.

Signup to your Account

  • By clicking checkbox, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

    Already have an account? Login

Close
No Result
View All Result
  • PECOS
  • MAGAZINE
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • CURRENT ISSUE
    • ISSUE ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ARCHIVE
    • PRODUCTS & SERVICES DIRECTORY
    • ADVERTISING INFORMATION
  • O&P JOBS
    • FIND A JOB
    • POST A JOB
  • EDGE ADVANTAGE
    • EA Homepage
    • EA Data
  • FACILITIES
  • RESOURCES
    • PRODUCTS & SERVICES DIRECTORY
    • CALENDAR
    • CONTACT
    • ABOUT US
    • O&P LIBRARY
    • THE GUIDE
    • CUSTOM PUBLICATIONS
    • ADVERTISING INFORMATION
    • EDGE DIRECT
    • AMPLITUDE
  • OANDP-L
  • LOGIN

© 2025 The O&P EDGE

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
 

Account Activation

Before you can login, you must activate your account with the code sent to your email address. If you did not receive this email, please check your junk/spam folder. Click here to resend the activation email. If you entered an incorrect email address, you will need to re-register with the correct email address.

 

© 2024 The O&P EDGE

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • EDGE Advantage
  • OANDP-L
  • Subscribe

CONTACT US

866-613-0257

[email protected]

201 E. 4th St.
Loveland, CO 80537

The most important industry news and events delivered directly to your inbox every week.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • EDGE Advantage
  • OANDP-L
  • Subscribe

© 2025 The O&P EDGE

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
The O&P EDGE Magazine
 
Required 'Candidate' login to applying this job. Click here to logout And try again
 

Login to your account

  • Forgot Password? | Sign Up

Reset Password

  • Already have an account? Login

Enter the username or e-mail you used in your profile. A password reset link will be sent to you by email.

Signup to your Account

  • By clicking checkbox, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

    Already have an account? Login

Close
No Result
View All Result
  • PECOS
  • MAGAZINE
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • CURRENT ISSUE
    • ISSUE ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ARCHIVE
    • PRODUCTS & SERVICES DIRECTORY
    • ADVERTISING INFORMATION
  • O&P JOBS
    • FIND A JOB
    • POST A JOB
  • EDGE ADVANTAGE
    • EA Homepage
    • EA Data
  • FACILITIES
  • RESOURCES
    • PRODUCTS & SERVICES DIRECTORY
    • CALENDAR
    • CONTACT
    • ABOUT US
    • O&P LIBRARY
    • THE GUIDE
    • CUSTOM PUBLICATIONS
    • ADVERTISING INFORMATION
    • EDGE DIRECT
    • AMPLITUDE
  • OANDP-L
  • LOGIN

© 2025 The O&P EDGE

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
 

Account Activation

Before you can login, you must activate your account with the code sent to your email address. If you did not receive this email, please check your junk/spam folder. Click here to resend the activation email. If you entered an incorrect email address, you will need to re-register with the correct email address.