MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCHING OPTION FOR THE HIGHER LEVEL UPPER LIMB AMPUTEE

The purpose of this article is to describe an alternative switching option for the higher-level upper limb amputee. Currently available body powered switches allow for only one function which can become quite cumbersome when multiple control methods are used. A multi-functional switch that can activate many different controls either independently or simultaneously could greatly reduce the amount of hardware required to operate all of these devices. When working with bilateral shoulder or interscapulothoracic amputees one of the main goals is to provide as much function as possible while maintaining simplicity in the design. The first patient that was fit with the actuator was currently wearing bilateral shoulder prostheses with seven switches. The result was a reduction in the amount of switches necessary to operate the different controls from seven to two. The switch can also be configured to operate Force Sensing Resistors (FSR’s) or linear transducers to provide proportional control.