The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved manufacturers to market the first prosthetic arm that can perform "multiple simultaneous" motions communicated through electromyogram (EMG) electrodes.
The DEKA Arm System employs electrodes that respond to electrical activity created by the contraction of muscles near the prosthesis, an FDA news release reported. The electrodes then send the signals to a computer that interprets them and translates them into a specific arm movement.
The EMG electrodes are able to convert the signals into 10 powered movements. The device is the same shape and weight of an adult's arm and contains a combination of "switches, movement sensors, and force sensors" that allow it to move, the news release reported.
"This innovative prosthesis provides a new option for people with certain kinds of arm amputations," Christy Foreman, director of the Office of Device Evaluation at the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health said in the news release. "The DEKA Arm System may allow some people to perform more complex tasks than they can with current prostheses in a way that more closely resembles the natural motion of the arm."
In order to make their decision the FDA reviewed a number of studies, including a 4-site Department of Veterans Affairs study. In the trial 36 participants tested out how well the arm performed when faced with everyday tasks.
About 90 percent of the participants were able to perform their everyday household activities using the prosthetic arm. Some of these tasks included "using keys and locks, preparing food, feeding oneself, using zippers, and brushing and combing hair," the news release reported.
The FDA also tested the arm's "software and electrical and battery systems, mitigations to prevent or stop unintended movements of the arm and hand mechanisms, durability testing (such as ability to withstand exposure to common environmental factors such as dust and light rain), and impact testing," the news release reported.
The arm can be used by those who have lost the limb at the "joint, mid-upper arm, or mid-lower arm" but not at the hand or wrist.
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