Duke student engineer Peter Truskey has continued to work the “myopen” project this summer with Given Limb board member, Jon Kunihom, as mentor.  In mid-July they attended a conference where they demonstrated the project and what they had completed to that point. Up until the conference, Peter continued to work on the software for the collection and analysis of the data. The software was written into Javascript so that it was completely open source and would be available to anybody to make changes to it. Since they returned from the conference, however, they have shifted their focus onto making a prototype of the board they been designing. The board is the centerpiece of the project and is where the  electrodes that collect the electromyograms (EMGs) will connect. The board will collect the analog data and using the software, process it and output a signal. Peter has been helping them with some final pieces of the board recently so that it can be prototyped. Some of the main issues they have been focusing on is what components to use.  They have been designing several similar prototypes with certain parts being varied. They should be ready to make these prototypes shortly, and once they are made, they can test them to determine the final design.  What this all means is that technology is now one step closer to creating a higher functioning myoelectric arm.  Stay tuned.

The July issue of Gourmet Magazine had a great article by J.J. Goode about her trials and tribulations in her endeavors to cook meals—lovingly—everything from peeling potatoes to removing hot dishes from the oven to opening a bottom of wine, the articles gives a good inside view of the challenges of cooking with one arm—To view the article, click this link:

http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2009/07/single-handed-cooking

As board members for Given Limb, we are constantly interested in and monitoring what is happening on the forefront of research in both mechanical and myoelectric prosthetics.  One interesting project, which is ongoing at Duke University, is based on the electrical signals generated by skin and muscle cells in our body.  A student is working to design a device capable of collecting skin surface electromyographic signals (electrical signals generated by the cells) from the arm and then process the data and deliver it to a host device.  The host device is basically a computer, which could be anything from the operator of a prosthetic arm to a video game controller.  More information on the project can be found at:
 http://openprosthetics.wikispot.org/Open_Myoelectric_Signal_Processor.

The Given Limb Foundation has developed a prototype repair kit for mechanical repairs on prosthetic arms.  The kit includes tools such as small precision screwdrivers (philips head and flat head), iris scissors, a hex set, tweezers, and a rubber band applicator.  Some with prosthetic arms have indicated that they often have to make minor repairs or adjustments to their arms, and that a small, self-contained kit for travel or home use would be helpful to them.  We would like feedback from others about this concept–would it be helpful, what should it contain, etc.

When a loved one faces an amputation, whether as a result of a war injury, illness, or other accident, the entire family embarks on an emotional journey.  Everyone’s primary concern is the health and welfare of amputee, but family members and spouses often make huge emotional, financial, and personal sacrifices to care for and support their loved one during recovery, and sometimes for the rest of their lives.  Information and guidance about local support networks may be hard to find.  Injured service men and women, in particular, may face a letdown of sorts when they return home from Walter Reed, where they received the best of care and had a support network of peers facing the same issues.  Once home, while they may have a closer network of family members, they also face the demands of home life without the constant interaction with peers and professionals who understand their issues.  This can put even more pressure on family caregivers.

There are probably many people across the country who have had similar experiences and faced similar problems in caring for loved ones who have had amputations.  There is undoubtably much valuable advice that could be shared if there were an easy way for caregivers and family members to communicate.

This blog could serve as a tool to enable this type of communication.  What problems have you faced as a caregiver?  What resources have been particularly helpful?  Are there topics we could cover in this blog that would be helpful to you as a caregiver?

Cody McCasland was born with multiple birth defects, and had both legs amputated above the knee when he was just a baby.  His care, and his multiple prosthetic limbs, have been provided by the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC), which will continue to provide him with prosthetic legs until he is 18. He has become a remarkable role model and spokesperson for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) and continues to raise money through Team Cody to support both the CAF and TSRHC. To watch the Dateline NBC story about Cody, click here.

While TSRHC provides care to Texas children, and has supported Cody by providing his expensive prosthetic legs at no charge, not every child amputee has access to the same quality of care.  A child without arms or legs needs multiple prosthetics. Not only do they outgrow their prosthetics, but different prosthetics are required for different purposes.  Cody has walking legs as well as running legs.  How do other children with similar issues get the prosthetic limbs and the care they need?  Do most medical insurance plans cover the cost of new prosthetic limbs as a child grows? Are there agencies or foundations that help young amputees with these costs, and with the myriad of issues these children face?

Welcome to the Given Limb Foundation Blog!  We hope this blog will provide amputees and their caregivers a forum for discussing the problems they face everyday, and for sharing ideas and information to help address unmet needs and improve their quality of life.  We welcome and encourage your comments as well as your suggestions for new topics.

Dean Kamen Develops New Prosthetic Arm–Dean Kamen (inventor of the Segway and iBOT) was asked by the Department of Defense to apply his innovation skills to the development of an advanced prosthetic arm with 14 degrees of freedom that is able to pick up a raisin or grape off a table and deliver it to the mouth, while being able to sense what was picked up.  Click here to see the amazing video of his prototype on TED. 

Prosthetic Arm Clearinghouse Encourages Innovation–Innovation in prosthetic arm design has been slow, largely because the market for prosthetic arms is small and the development costs are high, due to the complex functions of the hand and arm.  But Jonathan Kuniholm, a marine reservist who lost his arm when his platoon was ambushed and an IED exploded outside of Baghdad on New Year’s Day 2005, is trying to get innovators to collaborate online to make better prosthetic arms for amputees.

Jonathan, a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, founded the Open Prosthetic Project (OPP) to encourage engineers, designers and innovators to share their ideas and designs with others.  The OPP acts as a clearinghouse of ideas–contributors are invited to join an ongoing discussion about prosthetic arm design, and to give and take ideas to and from the site.  Nothing is proprietary, and the hope is that this process will encourage design improvements that will benefit upper limb amputees across the country and the world.

Click here to see the full “Scientific American” article.

New technology allows amputees to move their prosthetic arms using their brains and rewired nerves–Targeted Muscle Reinnervation, a new technique, involves connecting the nerves that remain after an amputation to another muscle in the body, often the chest muscle.  Amputees can then use that muscle to move their prosthetic arm, allowing more movements and more fluidity of movements than with past technology.  Click here to see the full New York Times article.