Survey on the usage status and information acquisition related to myoelectric upper limb prostheses

Abstract

A questionnaire survey was conducted on the usage status and information about myoelectric upper limb prostheses for 23 patients with upper limb amputations and hypoplasia. Sixty-nine percent of the subjects use myoelectric upper limb prostheses in daily life, and the main purpose of use was for work or school activities. Seventy-nine percent of users used it more than 5 days a week, but the average daily usage time was 11 hours for adults and 2 hours for children. Seventy-nine percent of the users answered that they were satisfied or almost satisfied with the myoelectric upper limb prostheses. These results indicates that the myoelectric upper limb prostheses are fully utilized in the lives of the users. Regarding the information acquisition route, they mainly obtained information from prosthetists, but there were a few who received information from the Internet. The problem was that many of the subjects recognized that it was important to exchange information between users, but there were few opportunities for interaction.