Michelangelo hand

Markus shows us how he works. He shares some insights into his family life with the Michelangelo hand prosthesis. He discusses important situations in his life and how he manages with the prosthesis.

Aisha is 18 years old and looking forward to getting a job and her own place to live. With the Michelangelo hand, she will be able to lead an active life. Grasping without thinking twice has never been so easy.

Michelangelo hand – Sjaak and his family

Very few parts of the human body are as complex as our hands. Only the perfect interplay between nerves, sinews, a total of 27 bones, 39 muscles and 36 joints makes it possible for us to carry out everyday activities as a matter of course. One of the greatest challenges faced by medical technology is using prostheses to model as many of these numerous functions as possible. With its seven different gripping possibilities, the Michelangelo hand restores numerous functions of the natural hand. Its gripping force is between 6 and 7 kg. You can adjust and control the force needed to hold a heavy or light object with the Michelangelo hand.

With a lateral pinch, also known as a key grip, the thumb moves laterally to the index finger. This allows you to laterally grip flat objects such as paper or credit cards.

The thumb moves laterally to the index finger. This allows you to also grip medium-sized objects such as a mobile phone.

By spreading and closing the fingers, you can hold flat and thin (< 3 mm) objects such as bank notes.

With the so-called pinch grip, the thumb, middle finger and index finger form a three-point support to securely hold small objects such as a pen.

The large opening width of the hand allows you to securely hold objects with a larger diameter.

With an open palm, a flat hand position is achieved which allows you to carry, for example, a plate or documents quite naturally.

The Michelangelo hand looks very natural in the resting position. In flexible mode, the wrist yields slightly when counter-pressure is applied.
When you relax the muscles, the Michelangelo hand also assumes a natural, relaxed hand position.

A good fitting doesn't end once a prosthesis has been professionally adjusted. The better you know your new Michelangelo hand, the more efficiently you can use it in everyday life. This is why Ottobock has developed accompanying practical exercises to familiarise you with the prosthetic hand – so you can reap the full benefits of the numerous functions and gripping options of the Michelangelo hand. Ideally, a specially trained therapist will support you as you work through the multi-level training concept. The contents include information on the daily handling of the prosthesis such as charging the battery, care instructions, storage or switching the prosthesis on and off. This is followed by exercises for learning the different grip options. In addition to the training with your therapist, there is also a DVD which allows you to repeat and familiarise yourself with the exercises at home.