Interview with the owner of bionic prostheses BeBionic and MyoFacil: their advantages and disadvantages in everyday life

    It is much more difficult to choose a prosthetic arm than any gadget or household appliance: you can’t just go to Yandex.Market and see BeBionic bionic arm evaluations, read Otto Bock reviews of MyoFacil, compare their technical characteristics. Too specific and rare product. Can help except that the reviews of these devices, like what I recently published here. But they are based on publicly available information.

    It is best to read about the advantages and disadvantages of bionic prostheses from a person who is familiar with them firsthand. Konstantin Deblikov has been using prostheses since December 2014. Especially for Geektimes, he told how prostheses help, which grips are not needed in principle and what difficulties are associated with the use of bionic brushes. This interview can be considered a review, honest and with a lot of criticism regarding the devices and their positioning.

    We met with Konstantin after he wrote a commentary on my article on bionic prostheses. He is registered with Hiktames - Deblikov - and is ready to answer your questions in the comments.



    In total, you now have two pairs of artificial limbs - BeBionic and MyoFacil. How do you use more often?

    Almost always - MyoFacil. They are more convenient in almost all respects; they win BeBionic both in terms of compressive strength and smooth operation. Simple dentures help, for example, to take an egg slowly and smoothly.

    A man's hand will crawl into any sleeve - because you can make a fist. And BeBionic can't do that. MyoFacil brush itself is smaller - it is convenient because it easily goes into clothing. No need to invent anything. And BeBionic is still big.

    On the street, in the store, at work - I'm in Otto Bock. And BeBionic is a demonstrative pair of prostheses for performances and lectures. In them, I just look like a terminator. This is the only benefit and benefit from them - they look cool. It seems that the truth has come the third millennium. In part, I took them, because there were no reviews and reviews online, this information is extremely small. Of course, I talked with the guys mainly from abroad. In Russia, there are no communities of people with amputations using bionic prostheses.

    Everything that I tell in my speeches is my personal opinion. Maybe someone has a different experience. Besides, I have a pair amputation. If there was a one-sided - perhaps I would be satisfied with BeBionic, I would use this prosthesis as an auxiliary bionic arm. And with a bilateral amputation, the hand should be a real tool, not just look cool, but also do something. This is an important caveat; all people with disabilities with a pair amputation really need a prosthesis of much more serious functionality. With unilateral amputation in 99% of cases, people perform actions with one healthy hand.

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    General view and brush MyoFacil, image from the official site.

    How quickly did you learn to use prostheses?

    First there was BeBionic, and literally in a couple of months - Otto Bock. This is a problem - learn to use. In the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, I read an article about bioelectric prostheses, it said about the course of study, about special rooms with stands, repeating common everyday objects for working out the interaction under the supervision of specialists. Now this is not. You can ask a prosthetist how best to hold a spoon with such a prosthesis. But in fact, you study on your own every day.

    Every item is new. As soon as the season changes, I change one jacket to another, the first days I am undermined with a zipper. You get used to every subject that requires fine motor skills, and in the process you start to interact with it better. And you change the jacket - you start from the beginning. Need to see lightning. Always thinking about how to get a new item. The learning process never ends.



    MyoFacil prosthesis has only one grip. Is that enough for basic household activities?

    Otto Bock is the world's oldest orthopedic enterprise. They have been manufacturing artificial limbs since 1913. Their MyoFacil really only has one grip. But, as practice shows, this is enough, and a person is able to perform unthinkable actions with the help of a prosthesis. By the way, the development of the same company, the prosthesis Michelangelo, is considered to be advanced at the moment.

    MyoFacil is revealed stronger, it can take a more voluminous subject than BeBionic. Many glasses and mugs can not take BeBionic. And Otto Bock while it looks unnatural, the glove is going on the back of the hand, but the prosthesis is revealed more. And it is more convenient in terms of speed, strength, size, weight, and charging lasts for three days of active use. In Otto Bock, I implemented a hot-swappable battery. You can just take extra batteries with you. Until a week I can be in a place where there is no electricity. Perhaps, BeBionic provides for a replacement, but I have not seen it anywhere.



    What kind of grip on BeBionic do you use? There are only 14 of them there - they are not needed all?

    Separately, all the fingers of BeBionic cannot be moved. There are 14 grabs. More than 14 useful grip hand make - you need to strain. 3-4 claps are enough in everyday life. The main characteristics that the prosthesis should have - lightness, ease of use, comfortable wearing - and not the number of grip.

    Switching between groups of grip by using the button on the back of your hand. The prosthesis has several positions of the thumb, by mechanical action it can be transferred to another plane.

    I use two - a pinch and a fist. Both - with the opposed thumb. I do not rearrange the thumb. This is not very convenient to do manually, especially with pair amputation. Touch Bionics and Michelangelo have provided automatic position changes. BeBionic 2012 is no longer the coolest and advanced machine.

    From a practical point of view, I can do up to 90% of household activities that I have done before. Naturally, the guitar can not play. The remaining actions are available. They may require more time training, but they are possible. Fine motor skills cause problems - laces, buttons. It is difficult, but not impossible, and with due diligence and desire you can always learn. But you can use ingenuity - do not fasten your shirt for half an hour, but unfasten a couple of buttons and put it on over your head. Lace up the shoes so as not to unlace.



    Is it convenient to use a computer and other gadgets?

    I have a panel with three pedals on the floor under the table. With the help of them I work with texts - there are hot keys. Everything rests on its own ingenuity. Especially if the amputation is a steam room. It is important what devices you can think of. Nothing works with sensors, except Touch Bionic Quantum and iLimb Ultra Revolution - there is one finger there. Therefore, the player and the reader, I chose the button.

    The grip for the mouse is absolutely useless. It was added so that videos with this prosthesis looked more. To all thought that the future has already come. In fact, we are still in the process, we are still at the beginning. There is one such mouse, sharpened. But in the end, the prosthesis can only click on the left button once or twice. Neither can not hold, nor press on the right.

    Can I fight? Or only once - the prosthesis will not stand it anymore?

    BeBionic is hard - if you hit hard, your opponent will be hurt. But it will be the most expensive fight. These prostheses, without any fights, broke down on level ground. Broke and mechanically, and electronics. When the guarantee is over, I will think about who to fight.

    Tell about cosmetic gloves and additional costs for them.

    In BeBionic glove disgusting. It is made of ordinary silicone. He is stuck in any sleeve. At the enterprise I was offered to put on a plastic bag on this glove, to dress and then take off. The Otto Bock glove is made from other materials, and it slides perfectly. But at the same time it gets very dirty and darkens with time, becomes covered with spots. Therefore, gloves change every six months. By the end of this period, even the holes appear. Maybe it depends on how to use. With a unilateral amputation, you can take care of the prosthesis, with a bilateral, you always work with two prostheses.

    All prices for components - space. Maybe they are making new discoveries from these funds, but the prices are very high. About 30,000 per glove.

    And without gloves you can not. The prosthesis is afraid of water. Electronics is complex and fragile. Many do not wear gloves, because dentures look cool. Gloves prevent the ingress of water, so that you can brush your teeth and wash the dishes. Gloves and anti-dust help - this affects the duration of use.

    What are the advantages of a denture over a hand? For example, is it possible to carry something heavy for a long time and with an uncomfortable handle that would crash into your fingers, or to take something hot?

    There are also pluses - pans can be taken without tacking, and in winter hands are not cold. But other problems are associated with cold. Batteries run out faster. MyoFacil at a temperature of -15 begins to work slowly.

    You need to be careful when you take something hot. The glove may melt. Do not put your hand into the fire. But I take hot pots. We must do it wisely.

    The problem of weight lifting is not that the prosthesis cannot withstand or squeeze strongly. And in how the prosthesis is attached in the hand. In the device and materials of the stubular receiving sleeve. When the prosthesis is attached to the elbow, then when you lift the bag, the whole weight presses on the bone on the elbow. And this is not the most pleasant feeling. Then I do not know what the way out. With the guys from Motorika, I hope we will come to this.

    It is very important to invent liners, ways of their fastening and installation. 3D scanning and printing are very promising. We need to find a way to mount the liner so that the person is comfortable. It is hot in summer, cold in winter.



    What are your main drawbacks? What exactly would you like to add to the prosthesis?

    Due to the lack of feedback it is impossible to operate objects in the dark. I need to see the item to take it. When it is not visible - it is impossible to understand where it is located. By weight, in principle, you can feel. Therefore, there is hope for artificial leather and other developments in the field of feedback.

    The problem of prosthetic upper limbs: the entire market is concentrated on the hands. But worse with elbows and shoulders. There are no normal hands on sale, which will be convenient for using the elbow, so that it works well with the brush, so that all this really helps, and not just pretend that there is a hand. This is a whole industry, a whole layer of unfulfilled work ...

    In BeBionic there is no rolling wrist. Many actions have to be performed, raising the elbow and shoulder.

    Is it possible to get such a prosthesis in Russia for budget funds?

    It all depends on the region, it is a very subjective question. Bionic prostheses cost tens of thousands of dollars. So that people everywhere could allow such prostheses, you need to change the system. I am from Voronezh - 200 thousand rubles will be compensated for artificial limbs of the upper extremities. The only thing you can buy for 200 thousand is a prosthesis of domestic production, developed in the 1990s. But he will discourage the desire to use a myoelectric prosthesis.

    In Russia, you can buy dentures manufactured by Otto Bock, BeBionic, Touch Bionic, but if something happens to the denture, it is sent to the production site - to England or to Germany. And the person remains without hands for a long time. And, for example, Michelangelo’s hand must be sent to the service every year, regardless of whether it is broken or not. In fact, this is correct, they make changes in advance, try to improve it. This is great, but every year for about two months, people have exactly without these brushes.

    Why am I friends with “Motorika” - when they make bioelectrics based on domestic prosthetic enterprises ?then this will be a huge step forward. People will receive repairs and maintenance at the place of residence. And this is in principle a leap if people without any problems get bioelectric prostheses. The most modern prostheses in the province are not installed. There are very few real prosthetists who make excellent sleeves, and they are all mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg. People for prosthetics go to these cities.

    Until now, there have been no developments in Russia since the 1990s, no new prostheses. Now there is the company “Motorika”, which breaks this trend.

    In general, obtaining a prosthesis in Russia is difficult - you can never be sure that you will get what you want. This applies to all means of technical rehabilitation. But sometimes regions, not the richest, can put up good dentures. And some simply refuse to do it, although there is no limit on the money for the prosthesis in the legislation. You can get any prosthesis if you can justify why you need it. But they can write that there is no money. We can for two hundred. This is our limit.

    It is more profitable for enterprises involved in prosthetics to equip a thousand disabled people with a dozen prostheses than to give one a foreign brush. In the end, everyone loses. No one gets good dentures.

    There are mechanisms of struggle - there is a court in which in 99% you will win. The law is on the side of the disabled. But it is a long time, it can take a year. The most persistent achieve their.

    When a pair of amputation is important to have two pairs of prostheses?

    Yes, I was lucky that there are two pairs of prostheses. Yes, and with one-sided without two dentures will be very uncomfortable.





    Konstantin in his experience could compare devices of different classes. Oddly enough, from the point of view of a real user, the primitive three-fingered grip still benefits the anatomically correct copy of the palm. The fact is that, although the current level of technology already allows us to make a hand with five fingers with movable phalanges, we are not yet able to give this hand a sense of touch and an interface that will fully unleash its potential.

    The mechanical complexity and energy intensity of a full-fledged bionic prosthesis turn out to be ballast rather than an advantage, as long as the artificial palm does not have artificial skin that allows you to touch anything, and an interface with the nervous system that allows you to freely control your fingers, rather than turn on and off the preset grips. It is in the development of sensorics of artificial limbs that the greatest potential for improving the quality of life of their users is today.

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