This chapter emphasizes the dilemma of salvage and reconstruction of the congenitally aplastic or hypoplastic thumb without normal cerebrocortical representation for prehensile grasp and pinch. The philosophy of reconstruction of the congenitally anomalous thumb is clearly divergent from thumb reconstruction following trauma. It is difficult to advise parents who seek surgical correction of the...

OBJECTIVE The analysis of body composition is a fundamental part of nutritional status assessment. The objective of this study was to establish body fat percentiles by bioelectrical impedance in children and adolescents from Bogotá (Colombia) who were part of the FUPRECOL study (Asociación de la Fuerza Prensil con Manifestaciones Tempranas de Riesgo Cardiovascular en Niños y Adolescentes Colomb...

We examined the ability of two 2-year-old children with limb deficiency to demonstrate grasp and release while using the cable-operated voluntary opening hook-hand and the externally powered single-site myoelectric Cookie Crusher system. The Cookie Crusher circuit is an electronic package that causes the prosthetic hand to open in response to muscle contraction and closes (as if crushing a cook...

Old age is associated with reduced mobility of the hand. To investigate age related decline when reaching-to-lift an object we used sophisticated kinematic apparatus to record reaches carried out by healthy older and younger participants. Three objects of different widths were placed at three different distances, with objects having either a high or low friction surface (i.e. rough or slippery)...

This research study presents the recognition of fingers grasps for various grasping styles of daily living. In general, the posture of the human hand determines the fingers that are used to create contact between an object at the same time while developing the touching contact. Human grasping can detect by studying the movement of fingers while bending during object holding. Ten right-handed su...

We argue that direct experimental approaches to elucidate the architecture of higher brains may benefit from insights gained from exploring the possibilities and limits of artificial control architectures for robot systems. We present some of our recent work that has been motivated by that view and that is centered around the study of various aspects of hand actions since these are intimately l...

A new type of wrist-mounted robot, the Supernumerary Robotic (SR) Fingers, is proposed to work closely with the human hand and aid the human in performing a variety of prehensile tasks. For people with diminished functionality of their hands, these robotic fingers could provide the opportunity to live with more independence and work more productively. A natural and implicit coordination between...

The hand is a prehensile organ, it is endowed with grasping and precision movements for skilled work and it acts as a chief tactile apparatus. Thus human hand is a revolution in evolution. Indeed the lumbricals of the hand by producing flexion at the metacarpophalangeal joints and extension at the interphalangeal joints helps in writing, stitching and any other forms of precision work. A study ...

Vertebrate model organisms have facilitated the discovery and exploration of morphogenetic events and developmental pathways that underpin normal and pathological embryological events. In contrast to amniotes such as Mus musculus (Mammalia) and Gallus gallus (Aves), our understanding of early patterning and developmental events in reptiles (particularly nonavians) remains weak. Squamate reptile...

The cerebellar cortex and nuclei play important roles in the learning, planning, and execution of reach-to-grasp and prehensile movements. However, few studies have investigated the signals carried by cerebellar neurons during reach-to-grasp, particularly signals relating to target object properties, hand shape, and grasp force. In this study, the simple spike discharge of 77 Purkinje cells was...