Prosthetic devices continuously evolve, broadening options for amputees to regain functionality and improve their quality of life after an accident, illness, or congenital condition. These advancements in prosthetic technology provide a path to recovery that was once unimaginable. 

But how will these prostheses specifically help you if you have lost partial or full use of your hand? Let’s find out!

Prosthetic Hand Restoration and Rehabilitation

A girl with a prosthetic hand painting on the easel

While aesthetics are often considered in prosthetic design, the primary objective of prosthetic devices is to restore your lost hand function, such as gripping and pinching. They provide tactile sensation and proprioceptive feedback*, enabling you to complete tasks more efficiently.  

Read on to see the purposes of prosthetic devices in hand function restoration. 

*Proprioceptive feedback is like a GPS that helps you sense the position, movement, and force of your muscles and joints, allowing you to perform tasks like reaching for an object or walking without watching your hands.

Replicating Dexterity and Motor Function

Replicating the dexterity and motor function of the human hand is one of the most challenging and vital aspects of modern prosthetic design. Our hand is incredibly complex, capable of a wide range of movements and grips that involve intricate coordination between muscles, tendons, and nerves. 

Modern prosthetics strive to mimic these functions, enabling you to handle objects, tools, and instruments easily. It is achieved through advanced materials, robotics, and sensor technology.

Myoelectric sensors, for example, detect electrical signals from the muscles in the residual limb, translating them into movements in the prosthetic fingers. This allows you to perform different grips with remarkable ease and accuracy, helping you regain control over your daily activities. 

Restoring Length and Natural Appearance

Restoring the length of the hand and fingers is the key to improving overall hand function. A prosthetic that closely resembles the natural length and look of the hand enhances your ability to perform tasks that require control and precision, such as typing or picking up small objects, with confidence and independence.  

With the right prosthetic hand or fingers, you can regain your hand’s functionality and return to your daily activities with ease.

Enhancing Grip Strength and Manual Dexterity

Grip strength and manual dexterity are essential for performing tasks that require force and fine control. Prosthetic hands or fingers improve grip by leveraging a sensorimotor control system that regulates the force and position of the prosthetic fingers, allowing for a range of grips.

These grips encompass:

• Opposed grip – Ideal for holding objects between the thumb and other fingers, like a pen or a key.
• Tripod grip – Often used for holding small objects with stability, such as a fork or a paintbrush.
• Trigger grip – Designed for tasks that involve pulling a trigger or similar actions, commonly used for holding and operating tools like a drill or a spray bottle.
• Precision grip (open & close) – Used for delicate tasks that require fine control, such as threading a needle.
• Rock grip – Ideal for securely holding irregularly shaped or larger objects, like a rock or a large jar.
• Power grip – Essential for tasks that require significant force, such as lifting a heavy object.
• Lateral pinch – Useful for holding thin objects, like a piece of paper or a credit card.
• Chuck grip – Commonly used for grasping cylindrical objects with precision, like holding a pen or a small round object, where the thumb, index, and middle fingers work together in a pinching motion.

These various grips enable users to perform a wide range of daily activities, from the simple to the complex, thereby restoring a sense of normalcy and independence.