Performance comparison among children fitted with myoelectric and body-powered hands

Seventy-six children with unilateral below-elbow amputation were fitted in random sequence with a myoelectric (MYO) and a body-powered (BP) prosthetic hand of identical size, shape, and glove color. Subjects ranged from six to 17 years, nine months and included 67 children with congenital limb deficiency and nine who sustained traumatic amputation. After training, each child wore each hand for three months. On the form board test requiring only prosthetic use, subjects took 13.7% longer with the MYO and committed more errors with the MYO, specifically in dropping objects and delaying their grasp and release. Object displacement, the most common error, occurred nearly as often with BP as MYO. MYO was minimally faster on a test of ten practical activities designed for bimanual prehension. Card playing was 39.8% faster with BP, whereas donning socks, cutting paper, and bandage application were 27.8%, 12.5%, and 10.9% faster with MYO. Performance with both hands was rated as decidedly poorer than normal quality. No major clinically important differences were found in the comparison of performance.