Two myoelectric arm prostheses for a defender

Andriy Oliynyk has amputation of both hands. Andriy was wounded near Bakhmut. During a mortar attack, an enemy ammunition landed nearby. The shrapnel crippled his entire body, especially his hands, which eventually had to be amputated.

The choice for prosthetics fell on myoelectric limbs. The sensors are attached directly to the muscles, and their contractions are used to make the iron hands work.

Prior to the full-scale invasion, specialists had never seen so many arm amputations, many of them above the elbow, says prosthetist Nazar Bahniuk. Previously, the reason for amputation could be cancer, a birth defect or a workplace injury, but now shrapnel and mines don't care where they go.

Before the full-scale war, there were about ten leg amputations for every one arm amputation. Now, amputations of arms account for about 30%. Restoring the functionality of the upper limb is a complex process and takes a long time.

Now Andriy trains every day to make the best use of his iron limbs.

We are glad that we were able to thank the defender and help him.