01
29/1/15
15:49
Page 1
INNOVATION FOR INDEPENDENCE
ISSUE 101 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015 £6.95
Amputee makes history with two prosthetic limbs By Olivia Taylor A COLORADO man recently became the first bilateral shoulder-level amputee to wear and simultaneously control two of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratories’ modular prosthetic limbs. Les Baugh, who lost both arms in an electrical accident 40 years ago, was able to operate the system by simply thinking about moving his limbs, performing a variety of tasks during a short training period. Before putting the limb system through the paces, Les had to undergo a surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital known as targeted muscle reinnervation. Johns Hopkins Trauma Surgeon Albert Chi, M.D explained: “It’s a relatively new surgical procedure that reassigns nerves that once controlled the arm and the hand. “By reassigning existing nerves, we can make it possible for people who have had upper-arm amputations to control their prosthetic devices by merely thinking about the action they want to perform.” After recovery, Les visited the Laboratory for training on the use of the Modular Prosthetic Limbs. First, he worked with researchers on the pattern recognition system, and by the time
the socket was finished, Les said he was more than ready to get started. When he was fitted with the socket, and the prosthetic limbs were attached, he said: “I just went into a whole different world.” He moved several objects, including an empty cup from a counter-shelf height to a higher shelf, a task that required him to coordinate the control of eight separate motions to complete. APL’s Courtney Moran, a prosthetist working with Les, added: “This task simulated activities that may commonly be faced in a day-to-day environment at home. “This was significant because this is not possible with currently available prostheses. He was able to do this with only 10 days of training, which demonstrates the intuitive nature of the control.” The next step is to send Les home with a pair of limb systems so that he can see how they integrate with his everyday life, and he’s looking forward to that day. “Maybe for once I’ll be able to put change in the pop machine and get pop out of it,” he said. He’s looking forward to doing “simple things that most people don’t think of. And it’s re-available to me.”
British disabled skier Heather Mills is attempting to break the Guineess World Record for speed skating – wearing a prosthetic leg that has been a year in development. Heather – who lost her leg in a collision with a motorbike in 1993 – only started her professional sporting career in 2011 when she was approached by the head of the Slovenian Masters while on a skiing holiday in Austria. She has a host of medals under her belt and now has a permanent position with the British disability skiing team – but she’s now in training to become the fastest disabled female speed skier in the world. Full story, Page 8