I'm a congenital amputee who just got my first 3D printed prosthetic arm. Ask me anything!

Have you ever pretended to traumatically lose your arm in an effort to teach people lessons, in the manner of J Walter Weatherman?

Hahaha not so specifically, but I’ve definitely used Halloween costumes to that end 😆My 3 Quick Halloween Costumes for Amputees

Forget the quick ones. I want to see the over the top well thought out ones!

Check this one out 😂 https://www.instagram.com/p/BmWOeO9BT52/?utm_medium=copy_link

This is really cool, I watched some of your vids and I love how you describe how the prosthetic is working.

I’m sure there’s a period when you learn how to do different tasks with the arm, but do you think there will be anything you prefer to do without the arm, like drumming?

You absolutely nailed it! There will be some things I do with the prosthetic and I’m sure that will be an enjoyable experience, but not every single daily thing. Definitely not drumming because there’s no way I could make the wrist move proficiently enough for fast drumming. I imagine this will be more of a part-time help her to me… And I look forward to sharing videos of me using it which will hopefully help kids who are learning to use their prosthetics too!

Are you going to attach some freakin laser beams to it?

If I’m lucky ;)

good luck! fingers crossed :)

lol that pun thoooo

Congratulations! How are you feeling?

Excited to share what I learn!

Can you give someone the finger with your new hand?

Probably! XD

Would you rather wear a 100% "invisible" prosthetic arm (with perfect looking skin and body hair, nails and also moving flawlessly without any sound) or an even more mechanical looking one? I ask because I found myself thinking about the possible unfortunate event of being amputated and what my reactions would be. And, being somewhat a nerd, I think I'd like more people see that I have a bionic arm than the opposite. But it's pure speculation. So thanks for letting us ask questions

Ohh interesting question! If I could have both interchangeably that would be ideal! I wouldn't always want to appear to be...not me by looking like I have two hands, but the occasions where I'm somewhere formal or just not feeling up to being stared at, it might be nice to have the other! Haha!

Are you going to try and learn to play the drums with this new prosthetic or stick to the old method?

I’ll no doubt stay with the old method bc I won’t be able to move the wrist on the prosthetic quickly enough to drum proficiently, but I’ll definitely try it out for fun! ;)

Any thoughts on this article?

https://www.inputmag.com/culture/cyborg-chic-bionic-prosthetic-arm-sucks

I totally understand that perspective and can relate in some ways! We're still at the stage of development in the world of upper limb prosthetics tech where they're only going to be an assistive tool and not a "game changer" if you will. Not yet at least. ;)

I see we read the same article! I suppose the benefit in OP's case is that it is probably much more lightweight than the one in the article.

I totally understand that perspective and can relate in some ways! We're still at the stage of development in the world of upper limb prosthetics tech where they're only going to be an assistive tool and not a "game changer" if you will. Not yet at least. ;)

Stupid question but I'm curious, is the prosthetic arm/grip stronger, weaker, or about the same in power compared to an organic arm?

Weaker. For sure. I'd say maybe 25lb of pressure max at certain angles.

Do you have any pain from your amputation? If so does the prosthetic do anything for that or make it worse?

I was actually born without my hand so no pain at all. Prosthetics have always been slightly uncomfortable, that’s pretty hard to avoid, but the new one is definitely the lightest and easiest to work with yet!

The video was awesome, congrats!

I have a question about your handedness. The vast majority of people are right-hand dominant, so if you are in that majority, then your brain was presumably wired for right-handedness. If that assumption is correct, then was it difficult for you to learn how to write as a kid if your only option was your (again, presumably) non-dominant hand?

Also, do you play the cello?

That’s a good question! I’d say it wasn’t particularly difficult for me to learn things left-handed, simply because I just never knew anything different, but the rest of my family is naturally right handed so I’m thinking I probably would have been too! Nope, no cello for me. That was my former roommate’s for decoration… my sister is an excellent cellist though!

Genetic handedness isn't very accurate, so there's still a chance you would have been left handed! Also, our parents age (I'm your age), a lot of left handed kids "became" right handed... That's awesome that it wasn't too much work though. They tried to make me right handed for a bit, I put a stop to that.

Good for you! #lefthandgang

Are you now considered armed and dangerous?

Do you have the right to bear-arms?

So many questions...

Anyhow: Congratz! That's awesome!

I’m a one man army! ;)

When do you get your own anime where you are a one armed cellist by day and a crime fighting bionic archer-bard by night? The working titles is “The 6 Million-Dollar Cellist”

Releases next month on Disney + 😆

How do you think your experience will differ with this prosthetic versus someone who's not a congenital amputee?

Oh man... in nearly every way I imagine. I think the main difference will be the results of the fact that dependence on my right hand has never existed, whereas a post-birth amputee will always have the memory of dependence on a second hand, therefore will use the prosthetic completely differently (and probably more often) than me.

Did you already high five someone? Congrats btw.

Haha yes actually!

Your reaction was kinda amazing btw.

Does the prosthetic provide sensation at all?

Also, I like to shoot and have known a handful of guys in the service who lost bits and pieces doing the sorts of things we do in that life… anyways. Most everyone uses some sort of claw type thing but it can be hard to really get a good hold on the rifle. And holding a pistol with two hands is right out.

Have you tried shooting with the prosthetic at all? I wonder if having a mechanically stable part of the equation would make you more accurate.

Oh, and I have long thought that if I had to give up a limb I would pick my left hand/arm. That way if someone asked me how I was doing I would hold up the stump and say “I’m all right” and then sigh, cry or something else amusing to me.

Do you ever make jokes that that? Like, “hey, did you get all those to-dos done?” “Oh, yeah, let me see what I have left…” and then just slowly stare at your left arm and then where the right isn’t and just sort of take it from there?

I feel like there is a lot of humor to be had… anyways, thanks for sharing!

I don't have any sensation through the prosthetic... yet! Maybe some day. Yes, I have shot handguns and rifles and I do okay! I just set my feet and grip the handgun tightly and it works out. I enjoyed shooting a shotgun the most though. And ohhh yes, I make jokes all the time. People are thinkin it already so I play off that for fun. ;) Thanks for the thoughts and questions! :)

I want to get into developing these types of prostheses - are there things you think are commonly missed or overlooked by the design teams working on these things?

Hmmm... probably skin tone matching and a glove covering material that's super realistic while also being easy to clean

What sensors are there in the base of the arm? Eventually will you be able to grip without hitting the button?

Actually the arm is designed to move completely based on arm movements within the socket. In that video I hadn’t trained it yet so I could only still control it with the button, but now I’m learning how to do different movements via the sensors in the socket. :)

Have you ever experienced phantom pains? If so, did the prosthethic reduce the amount of “episodes”?

Nope, I was born without it so no phantom pains for me. 🙏🏻

Are you taking your arm out for a test ride with the AMA?

And congrats!

Heck ya! 🦾

How useful would you say the prosthetic arm is doing day-to-day tasks? And where would you hope the technology moves towards in the future?

I would say it’s about useful for 25% of my daily tasks. To be honest I will probably more often than not use it for very specific tasks and not everything. I hope that the technology continues to move forward in terms of grip strength and wrist movement and reaction time.

Does the arm come with a warranty? What would you have to do to void the warranty?

Asking semi seriously but they are expensive so repairs would be too.

Lol That’s actually a great question and I really don’t know the answer. I imagine if there even is an established warranty that it would be pretty generous considering most of the users of these prosthetics are going to be kids… Maybe not most actually, but plenty…

How is the articulation?

The thumb and wrist I have to move manually… Is that what you mean?

if you lived in the cyberpunk era where people amputate their limbs to get a stronger cyborg version would you amputate any other limb?

Hahaha no I’d probably just stick with the one

Random question about typing... Do you use a normal keyboard or do you have a one-handed keyboard?

Pretty sure the prosthetic wouldn't change that, but could you use a mouse with it?

Yeah, maybe a mouse! But yes, I do use a regular keyboard type and I’m actually pretty quick with it by using my hand and some of the keys with my “paw”

We usually see boa dials on cycling shoes. How effective is that for getting the right snug fit on Arm?

It does a pretty good job actually!

What’s your Halloween costume this year?

Still trying to decide.. maybe Furiosa ;)

What are some of your favorite songs to play? I've always wanted to learn some dream theater.

Do you have a 'Magnum Opus'?

On drums? I lovvvve to play to anything in the funk genre. I love the timing and tempo. Also pop. Then sometimes something like heavier rock, just to get out some energy. XD

Hi! If i understood you correctly in your video, your prosthetic can read nerve signals to initiate movement (correct me i i'm wrong), would the fact that you never had a right hand to begin with, and therefore lack the neural architecture for right-hand mobility pose an obstacle to your (and that of the prosthetic's algorythm) learning curve?

All the best to you, i hope (and believe) that the next decades will have wonderfull surprises in store for you!

It's actually controlled by my movements within the socket. So basically I flex my "paw" within the socket, the electrodes that read the movement are triggered and the arm responds. :)

How do you compute (perceive, feel) the fact of using a hand that is not yours and it's not even replacing something you ever had?

Well, I grew up with prosthetics so it's sort of like an "accessory" that I'm very accustomed to at this point.

Pepsi or Coke?

Coke ;)

Wow! So according to the video you can move the fingers without pressing the button, by moving your arm in the socket (if you trained it, like you said in the video). Can you maybe explain how that works?

Like do you cycle between grips with that? Can you make your own custom grips?

Also is it heavy? How often do you have to charge it?

It looks amazing! And very useful too.

Great questions! This video will probably do better at explaining than me, but in short, yes! I move my arm within the socket and the little sensors respond and move the arm. Based on the position of the thumb and color code on the LED sensor, there are different movement “cycles” as you said!

how did you go about the process of getting one? are there any plans to release to the public?

my son was born with an ulnar deficiency so one arm is shorter/missing fingers where the ulnar bone would’ve grown, so i’ve been interested in looking into prosthetic limbs

Yes, check out Unlimitedtomorrow.com to see if your don might be eligible for a fitting!

Do you have a new video of you using the arm after having trained it? I imagine it’s most practical when you don’t have to use the other arm to press buttons. But training the arm to reliably actuate when you command it must be hard.

Not yet but one is coming soon!!