"The prosthesis has given me independence, acceptance, a sense of normalcy in everyday life, and a feeling of wholeness. It no longer feels like a foreign object to me. The prosthesis is now my arm."
Isabelle's Story
In everyday life and in college – my journey with an arm prosthesis
Hello! I’m Isabelle. I wear a myoelectric upper-arm prosthesis, and I’ve been the proud owner of my VINCENTevolution hand prosthesis since 2020.
How do you operate a myoelectric prosthetic hand?
Today, controlling my prosthesis feels completely natural, and I can manage my daily life with it easily and independently. Still, I remember very well how challenging the early days were after I received my first prosthetic hand.
When I found myself facing everyday life on my own with the VINCENTevolution for the very first time after my amputation, I was definitely overwhelmed. Compared to a human hand, controlling the prosthesis initially requires a shift in thinking: no more subconscious grasping, but rather actively tensing my biceps and triceps to send muscle signals to the prosthesis. A total of 16 different grips can be controlled using just these two muscle signals. For the untrained user, this gesture control is exhausting—both for the muscles and for the brain.
During the training phase, I had to accept that everyday activities took significantly more time. I had to be patient, determined, and forgiving of myself in order to learn how to control the prosthesis. I always kept my goal in mind: This cool bionic hand, with all its functions, was going to become a part of me. So I practiced with it consistently and wherever possible in my daily life. Thanks to my dedication, I made rapid and noticeable progress: controlling it has become faster and smoother, my sense of accomplishment has grown, and I’m becoming more skilled at using the prosthesis. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and controlling the grips now happens automatically and completely intuitively.
How my Vincent Prosthesis supports me in my everyday life
And now the prosthesis has become a part of me that I wouldn’t want to be without. I’d be lost if I had to get through life with just one arm. The bionic hand helps me in countless everyday situations: Tying my shoes, opening packages, or unlocking my apartment door—which, by the way, requires pulling the door toward you with one hand while turning the key in the lock.
I’m also able to navigate my daily life as a mechatronics student smoothly and independently with the prosthesis. Building electronic circuits on the breadboard works flawlessly thanks to the VINCENTevolution’s highly precise tweezers-like grip. I can even handle a soldering iron with the bionic hand without any trouble and now carry my tray in the cafeteria with both hands. My prosthesis also affects how others perceive me. The reactions of my fellow students, in particular, make me feel good. Many are extremely interested and curious. This often leads to exciting conversations about exactly how I control my prosthesis and what functions it has.
Precision, Tactile Sensation, and Water Resistance – The benefits of the VINCENTevolution
Over the years, I’ve come to really appreciate the VINCENTevolution and all its benefits. The precision and fine motor skills of the bionic hand are incredible—with the pincer grip, I can even grasp and tear open the small tabs on yogurt cups. The waterproof prosthesis is suitable for any everyday situation—whether I’m studying, eating, doing household chores, or out and about, I can use it for everything and keep it clean just like my other hand by washing my hands. The VINCENTevolution’s sense of touch is also a real asset in everyday life. Thanks to vibration and visual feedback when grasping objects, I’ve been able to regain a kind of tactile sensitivity over time. I can now accurately gauge how firmly I’m gripping with the bionic hand and when the force I’m applying is sufficient.
The prosthesis has given me independence, acceptance, a sense of normalcy in everyday life, and a feeling of wholeness. It no longer feels like a foreign object to me. The prosthesis is now my arm.
