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Upper Limb Prosthesis Parts

Amber Henson
by Amber Henson
Oct 29, 2024

When first entering the world of upper limb prostheses, either because you have a congenital amputation and you’re considering a device, or because you’ve recently had an amputation and you’d like to learn more about your options, the language can be overwhelming. It’s something like buying a house or having a wedding: there’s all new vocabulary to learn. We have an article that goes over common terms, but here we’ll focus on what makes up the components of a prosthesis.

Most people who experience an upper limb amputation have never met someone else with an upper limb amputation. Same for parents of a child with a congenital limb difference. There’s no reason for them to know what parts are necessary to create an upper limb prosthesis. While the below may be helpful to get yourself familiar with what is available, what you will really benefit from is an upper limb prosthetic specialist. Each of our prosthetists and occupational therapists are upper limb prosthetic specialists. They know what parts will not only work best with each other, but what would work best for YOU based on your lifestyle, job and goals.

Let’s start with the smallest upper limb prostheses available: PIPDrivers or custom silicone restorations for a fingertip. The PIPDriver is a body-powered product made by Naked Prosthetics and can be used side by side with other prosthetic finger devices.

PIP-2.jpg

Additionally, they can feature artwork, as seen below:

Artwork on Naked Prosthetics PIP Driver copy

A company called Point Designs also makes a passive device for this level. A passive upper limb prosthesis is a device that is positioned by a person’s sound hand or by pushing it against a tabletop or other surface. This is the Point Partial:

Point Partial Digit Socket IG

Custom silicone restorations can be made for any upper limb difference, including fingertips:

Custom Silicone Restoration

The next highest partial finger prostheses are MCPDrivers and ThumbDrivers for people with shorter residual fingers, but still enough finger for the band to hold onto. These devices need to be placed on a frame — most upper limb prostheses include a frame or silicone socket to hold the device in place.

MCPDriverDSC03858-Edit

These devices and frames can also be customized to the wearers liking. On this prosthesis, you can see the frame, the hard cover on the top of the hand, and the socket, which is the silicone inside that allows for a comfortable fit against the residual limb:

Williams Partial Hand NP MCP Drivers - Rose Gold copy

Custom silicone restorations are also available for this level:

Kandra Ravat passive silicone restoration digit

For people missing one or more fingers and/or thumbs, there are two passive options, custom silicone restorations and myoelectric devices. PointDesigns offers Point Digits and Point Thumb:

DSC04300-Edit

In the photo below, you can see a Point Digit, along with a frame featuring a BOA system. This device allows for a prosthesis to be put on, then tightened. Our prosthetists and technicians use the BOA system on many levels of upper limb loss, from partial finger to shoulder level.

Hannah Viktora Point Digit with Silicone and BOA

Custom silicone restorations are also available at this level, and people often add accessories like rings and bracelets to enhance the realistic look of the prosthesis.

Cosmetic Partial Hand Restoration

Some people with missing fingers and/or a thumb opt for a myoelectric device. Below you can see iLimb Digits connect to a frame that covers the residual palm. Inside the frame is the silicone socket. The fingers are powered by the battery pack that is part of the wrist strap. Most myoelectric fingers can only open and close — they cannot change grip patterns the way a myoelectric hand can, which we feature below.

iDigits PX with Blue Silicone Socket IG

You also may hear of a hand protector. These can be crucial for anyone who has a sensitive residual palm:

Protectors

Let’s not forget hybrid devices. A hybrid device can describe any prosthesis that uses two different types of devices. In the image below, you can see a prosthesis that includes both passive and body-powered fingers:

Hybrid NP-PD Black

Moving up to below elbow limb differences, the options include custom silicone restorations, body-powered, and myoelectric.

The myoelectric prosthesis below features a TASKA myoelectric multi-articulating hand, a (Bengals-themed) frame and a silicone socket.

Cincinnati Bengals Transradial

Body-powered terminal devices can be body-powered hooks, such as the one below:

Custom Carbon Fiber Socket with body-powered hook

There are custom silicone restorations at this level, as well:

Abram Baker Cosmetic Tattoo-1

None of the above prostheses include a wrist unit, but those can be crucial for prepositioning the prosthesis and preventing overuse injuries for both the sound side and the affected side of the body. You can see a wrist unit in the image below. There are also myoelectric wrist options.

Nebraska Cornhuskers Transradial BP

For people with a limb difference above the elbow, the prosthesis will need to include an elbow. The below prosthesis features a TASKA CX hand and a body-powered elbow.

Jameson Davis Transhumeral PX

Here is our patient Doug wearing a body-powered V2P with a wrist unit and a body-powered elbow:

TentSocial

Additionally, custom silicone restorations are available for above the elbow:

Diana and ARTech Restoration mid-process

For limb differences above the shoulder, there are shoulder prostheses available. The one featured below is a myoelectric unit. Depending on the type of terminal device used and the limb difference level, a harness, which you can also see below, may be utilized.

Gloria, Dakota SD Myo

Last but not least, we'd be remiss not to mention activity-specific devices. These can vary from devices that can help with swimming, playing pool, bowling, bicycle riding, hunting and other hobbies but some of the most popular activity-specific devices are built to help people weightlift and exercise:

AngelRobFeatured
906A3812-Edit
Shaholly Yoga at home-1

The larger the prosthesis, of course, the more parts there are. When you have the Arm Dynamics clinical team on your side, you don’t need to worry about which parts will work best for you because we have years of experience and can walk you through the process, matching devices and parts to your goals. It’s important to be flexible: we’ve had patients come in who were certain they knew what they wanted, only to learn that a different type of device would work better for them.

If you would like to learn more about what would work best for your goals, please contact us. Once you and your prosthetist determine what would work best for you, our support doesn’t stop there — our occupational therapists teach our patients how use their devices in their daily lives at home, at work and more.

If you’d like to leave a comment, you are welcome to do so below.

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