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Powered prosthetic hands in very young children
1Mobility and Specialised Rehabilitation Centre, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, England.
Insights
Early introduction of myoelectric prostheses for children with congenital upper limb deficiency is successful. This approach, starting around 20 months, shows high usage rates and positive parental feedback, challenging traditional age guidelines.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Orthopedics
- Rehabilitation Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Myoelectric prostheses are typically not provided to children under 3.5 years in the UK.
- A smaller electric hand became available in the UK in 1993.
- This study explores early prosthetic intervention for congenital upper limb deficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility and success of early introduction of powered prosthetic hands for young children.
- To compare early powered prosthetic use with traditional prosthetic provision timelines.
- To evaluate parental satisfaction and child acceptance of early prosthetic fitting.
Main Methods:
- Eleven children with congenital upper limb deficiency were fitted with powered prosthetic hands.
- The average age of introduction was 20.6 months.
- Success was evaluated through usage and acceptance assessments.
Main Results:
- 72.7% of children successfully used the powered prostheses.
- Fitting and encouraging operation were less problematic than anticipated.
- Parents reported high satisfaction with the early introduction of powered hands.
Conclusions:
- Introducing powered prostheses at an earlier age (around 20 months) is a viable alternative to waiting until a child is older.
- Early intervention with powered prosthetics can be more suitable than body-powered devices for young children.
- Positive parental involvement significantly contributes to the success of early prosthetic programs.
Abstract:
Myoelectric prostheses are generally not provided in the United Kingdom for children before the age of 3 1/2 years. Following the introduction of a smaller sized electric hand in the United Kingdom in 1993 the authors decided to introduce electrically powered hands for a group of congenital upper limb deficient children at a much younger age compared to normal practice. Eleven children were introduced to powered prosthetic hands at an average age of 20.6 months. At the review carried out for the purpose of this paper. 72.7% of these children appeared to be successfully using these powered prostheses. Fitting these young children with powered prostheses and encouraging acceptance and operation of the prostheses appeared to be much less of a problem than might have been anticipated. The parents of all these children have very much liked the introduction of powered hands at this early age and have contributed positively to the prosthetic programme. The authors' experience suggests that introduction of a powered prosthesis at a much earlier age can be a more suitable alternative than provision of a body-powered prosthetic device while waiting to reach an older age before a powered prosthesis is considered.