After a relaxing spring break, I am back to my project! Week 5 just wrapped up, and things are going well.
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| The unusually dark hallway to my lab |
ASU has it's spring break this week, and going to my site felt kind of like walking through a ghost town. Most of my week was spent going through some papers and getting my program to work. I covered a remarkable amount of ground with my social analysis. I read through a couple different papers in the American Journal of Nursing, that talked about different reactions to prosthetics. Something important that was mentioned in one of the papers,“The Pneumatic Arm Prosthesis" was about how there are three primary problems for an amputee: 1) the difference in daily function, 2) the perception of the way society will now view the amputee, and 3) the patient’s reception of the prosthetic (1993). While considering that this paper was published in 1993, the first problem has mostly been taken care of with newer forms of physical therapy, but the second and third are two of the most important social concerns that I want to further explore.
Kind of related to this was a heartwarming story that I saw on the news. It was a story about how a 4 year old boy with an amputation had been given a doll that had a prosthetic. After he lost his leg from an injury while playing with his dog, the four year-old had been using a temporary prosthetic, and a walker, to get around; but Prosthetists were able to design him a prosthetic to use permanently(CBS). In order to get him used to wearing it and removing it, he was given a doll with a prosthetic, that he could use to learn how to use his own prosthetics. After looking into this, I realized that the manufacturers of such dolls and toys made these to get rid of any resistance that children may have as they adapt to their new lives with their prosthetics. It was something small, but I thought it was a touching way to make sure the kid felt comfortable and was happy as he transitioned to using his new prosthetic.
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| My Desk |
Other than that, my program is going well, I got the connection built between the Armband and my computer and was able to record some EMG data, so that was good. Thank you so much for reading this, and if you have any questions, make sure to leave them in the comments below.
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| The Connection was built! |
Sources
Kessler, Henry H., and Kiessling, Edward
A.. “The Pneumatic Arm Prosthesis.” The American Journal of Nursing, vol. 65, no. 6, 1965, pp. 114–117. 9 Mar. 2017.
http://www.cbs5az.com/story/34711689/valley-boy-comforted-by-doll-with-prosthetic-leg-valley-boy-comforted-by-doll-with-prosthetic-leg
Hey Sri! Glad to hear back from you after your spring break :D The story about the 4-year old was truly heart-warming, and I'm so happy that companies like that exist. Quick question, do you think that having prosthetics that look very similar to actual limbs through cosmetic appearances can address all three problems alone, or do you think there are more facets to the issue? Can't wait to hear more in 'week 6'!
ReplyDeleteHi Saleena! I think that the cosmetic appearence can certainly help solve the 2nd and 3rd problems, but the first problem is based around the prosthetic user's life before and after the addition of the prosthetic. Thank you!
DeleteSri,
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed spring break and progressed so far in your research. The psychological problems associated with prosthetics are interesting and I cant wait to read more about it.
Hey Sri! I hope you enjoyed your spring break! That story about the four-year old was so sweet; I'm glad you shared it with us! I have a little question though. What factors (if there are any) affect the patient's reception of the prosthetic (i.e. the type of prosthetic, age of patient, etc)? Great post this week, and I can't wait to read the next one!
ReplyDeleteHi Korina! The patients reception of the prosthetic is mainly centered around their life before and after the prosthetic. When using a prosthetic, it is often the change with how your life was before to how your life is with the prosthetic, so for someone young who was working, like a manual labor job, their reception of the prosthetic will be bad and it will be difficult to come to grips with it because they can't do everything they used to. I hope that helps, Thank you!
DeleteHi Sri! I love John Oliver so your first gif is great. It is so cool that the doctors gave the little boy the doll with a prosthetic. I think that hits two birds with one stone, by functioning to actually teach the boy to use it and by showing him he's not alone in the world of prosthetics. Have you read any other specific similar cases where using a doll, toy, amputee service animal, or anything else has really helped an amputee? Great post, and I can't wait for week 6!
ReplyDeleteHi Julia! It does! Yeah, there are dolls like this given out to all children amputees to help them become comfortable with it. Last year, I forgot when, but I read another story about how a 2 year old quadruple amputee girl was given a doll that looked like her, and had prosthetics, so she could learn how to wear her prosthetics. Some amputees will use guide dogs, but they arent that common. Thank you!
DeleteHi Sri! I hope your spring break was fun! Between when that paper was written and now, have you seen any progression in ways for people to "connect" with their prosthetic? I can see that the connection you created was built with code. Did you have to learn any new skills to learn/improve on your coding skills in order to allow the connection to work? Fun read!
ReplyDeleteHi Sydney! Yeah, earlier prosthetics had levers to opem and close the prosthegic hand, but in the early 2000's, prosthetics that could function off of EMG's came into the forefront. So today, we have prosthetics that can function with the EMG sensors. Yeah, I didn't know that much when I began this project, but now I know alot more. Thank you!
DeleteHi Sri. Great post! I love how you are approaching prosthetics from the psychological side and not only the mechanical. It's so exciting that you figured out how to connect the Armband and the computer. Did you code the program to receive the data from the Armband or was there already a code for it? Thanks! I am looking forward to next week.
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle! Yeah, I had a basic program that I had to learn MATLAB and C++ to get to work with the armband. So I kind of added on to an already exsisting piece of code. Thank you!
Delete*existing
DeleteI hope you Sri had a great spring break. I can't wait to read more about your research that is so cool.
ReplyDeleteHi Sri. How do you think the other two problems will be dealt with in the future? By the way, the story was indeed heartwarming. Can't wait for next week's blog.
ReplyDeleteHi Jason! I think that these two problems need to be dealt with by more research and a change in social attitude. With more research, a prosthetic can be imporved and the patient will receive it differently as opposed to a prosthetic that can only do a fraction of what their original limb could. With the social attitude, I feel that society has to become more inclusive in general, as they put differences, such as prosthetic use, aside. With a better prosthetic, newfound confidence and a more inclusive society, those two problems can easily be dealt with. Thank you!
DeleteHi Sri,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you back after the break. Do you think that social concerns affect the design of the prosthetic in any way? Good luck with your further research.
Hi Anthony! Yeah, it plays an importany role, because, just like the way you dress or the way you look, wearing a prosthetic can harm self image and confidence and esteem, so one of the earliest developments for prosthetics was in cosmetic appearence. They wanted to get them to look as close to the original as they could. Thank you!
DeleteIt's really cool that you're exploring both social and mechanical aspects of prosthetics. For the third problem with prosthetics, what exactly happens? Obviously, I understand that there's a mental toll on the patient/ amputee, but what does that entail?
ReplyDeleteHi Fajr! Yeah, so with the third problem, it is kind of a personality and mobility concern for people. Wearing a prosthetic can make the patient feel that they are not as important and gobe the patient low self-esteem and confidence. With mobility, a prosthetic will obviously limit person as opposed to how thsy were earlier, so they will feel as if they can't do anything, and they will have a hard time adapting to it and using it, because they can't do as much as they could earlier. I hope that helps. Thank you!
DeleteThat's awesome that the armband it working and you had a good break! I can't wait to see how much you learn from more research! Can't wait for your next blog.
ReplyDeleteAudrey
Hello sri,
ReplyDeleteThat story is so amazing. using the dolls as a microcosm for the real thing is such a great idea. plus, the story was very heart-warming. Do you know by any chance how having a doll to aid them ACTUALLY aids them? is it to help them understand the process or is it something mentally. thank you for reading this.
Joe Zyadeh
Hi Joe! Yeah, so the dolls actually help them lose a social stigma, that they are different, and it helps them learn how to wear their prosthetic. It mainly helps with the third problem, their reception of the prosthetic. Thank you!
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