Bionic Hands

Reported February 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Fr most of us, losing a limb would be devastating, but imagine losing both arms and both legs. Meet a woman who is not only surviving, but thriving, using the latest in prosthetic technology. A new bionic hand is helping amputee's regain control and independence.

From the mountains of Switzerland, to the beaches of Hawaii … Cheryl Douglass planned on spending her retirement spanning the globe. But two years ago, her jet-setting days came to a sudden halt.

"She had almost the equivalent of being struck by lightning," Alexander Dromerick, M.D., co-director of the Neuroscience Research Center at the National Rehabilitation Hospital at Washington, D.C., told Ivanhoe. "She developed an infection that lead to an immune response where her own immune system attacked her own blood vessels."

The blood flow to Douglass's arms and legs was cut off. To save her life, all four limbs had to be amputated.

"You can go home lie in bed and feel sorry for yourself," Douglass said. "The other option is to just get up and do things which is what I opted to do."

After almost three months in a hospital bed and eight more in rehab, Douglass walked with the help of two prosthetic legs. Her next challenge … using new arms

Traditional prosthetic hands move as a single unit. Douglass wanted more control so she's learning how to use the i-LIMB. Each finger moves individually, allowing users to grip objects.

"It replaces virtually all of the movements that our natural hands can do," Dr. Dromerick explained. "I grew up on Star Wars and it almost looks like that hand that Luke Skywalker had."

Neuroscientists attach electrodes to the end of Douglass's limb that pick up signals from her muscles. Those signals are sent to a computer inside the hand, which directs each finger to move.

"Picking up a piece of paper, turning over a checker, picking up small objects those kind of fine motor things that's what it's allowing people to do," Dr. Dromerick said.

The new hand gives Douglass the control and confidence to work her magic in the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm pretty pleased 'cause that means before long I'll be back into cooking more French dishes, which I like," she said.

She faced the unthinkable, but still managed to keep her edge and independence.

The i-LIMB costs about $18,000 and is sometimes covered by insurance. It weighs several pounds less than traditional prosthetic arms. Doctors still don't know what caused the strep-a infection that attacked Douglass. It's the same infection that killed famous puppeteer Jim Henson.

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