CLASSIC LIST
A bionic hand has allowed a young mother to do essential everyday tasks for the first time since losing fingers to sepsis.
“After eight months without the use of my left hand it felt fantastic being able to do tasks with it again,” said Niamh Boyle(32) who developed the life-threatening infection after the birth of her fourth child last year.
When she woke from a medically induced coma she was told she would have to have all the fingers on her left hand amputated; she also lost toes on her right foot.
Niamh, a mother of four from Co Louth, has spent the last week being trained in how to use the high-tech prosthetic iLimb at APOS (Atlantic Prosthetic Orthotic Services) in Co Galway.
She is now waiting for her bespoke hand to be delivered and allow her to live as normal a life as possible.
“The training with the prototype hand involved doing every day tasks such as peeling vegetables, picking up and putting down different-sized objects at different heights and opening various packets and boxes and bottles.
“They are custom-made by Touch Bionics in Scotland and this week I visited APOS in Galway who took the mould for it and I met the trainers.”
The silicone mould for her bespoke hand has been sent to Scotland to begin the process of making the inside customised socket.
The last task for Niamh was to go grocery shopping. “We went to a local Tesco with the Touch Bionics guys and I used the hand for pushing the trolley, putting items into the trolley, packing the shopping bags and lifting them into the boot of the car.
“It was a bit odd in the supermarket as I felt everyone was looking at me, especially because it wasn’t the finished hand so wires and tape were visible”.
“I am so excited to get the finished hand. I am going to miss it [the prototype] so much while the real thing is being made,” Niamh added.
(Credit “The Irish Times”)
We provide the highest definition silicone cosmetic Prostheses.
Partial feet prostheses
Partial feet provide great functional and cosmetic solutions within one device. Each unique partial foot can encompass a combination of materials with specific properties to aid comfort and mobility. Matched to the patient’s shape and skin tone they offer a highly natural looking, wearable solution for partial foot amputees.
Making accessible to Irish patients the highest standard cosmetic prostheses available internationally.
Our specialist team will utilise specific casting procedures and the properties of a selection of materials to develop your prosthesis. Soft silicone gel pads can be used to relieve pressure in sensitive areas, while medical grade silicones protect vulnerable skin.
HIGH DEFINITION
MULTI COLOUR:
Hand crafted utilising a comprehensive colour palate; the Multi-Colour option encompasses a great level of texture detail and includes a number of characteristics such as hair, moles, veins and freckles.
SINGLE COLOUR:
The Single Colour option offers a single colour product, hand-sculpted to mirror the shape, size and texture detail of the client’s sound side. Nails are selected to match the client and pre-set in colour comprising of a base colour and a white tip.
The Charcot Restraint Orthotic Walker (CROW) is a type of custom made orthosis that is designed to reduce pressure on the foot and the ankle for people who have a neuropathic ulcer and/or a Charcot Joint.The CROW is made from a cast of the foot and lower leg and is designed with a soft footbed and cushioned liner. The Orthosis is made of rigid plastic with a rockered bottom to allow for normal heel to toe walking.
The CROW works to reduce destructive forces in the foot and ankle, protecting the bone at the same time as reducing pressure on the bottom of the foot to help heel and prevent ulcers.
Neuropathic joints, often called Charcot joints, are caused by loss of sensation in the joint so that it is severely damaged and disrupted
The Charcot foot is triggered by a combination of mechanical, vascular and biological factors which can lead to late diagnosis and incorrect
treatment and eventually to destruction of the foot.
Autistic / sensory seeking toe walkers have been found to benefit from the use of Neurological foot orthoses. Benifiting from the sensory feedback of the orthosIs design, patents are less likely to toe walk.
APOS have introduced their NEURO foot orthosis for this patient group. This orthotic intervention is considerably less invasive than alternatives such as casting,Orthopaedic footwear or Ankle Foot Orthoses.