FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Weeks after becoming the first woman in the nation to be fitted with an i-limb quantum bionic arm, Lizbeth Uzcategui continues to surprise herself with all that she can do.
The high-tech prosthetic arm, made by Massachusetts-based Touch Bionics (touchbionics.com), allows the Fort Lauderdale resident to enjoy making movements that other people take for granted. Things like giving a thumbs-up (or down), moving a computer mouse, shaking hands, opening up her new hand to rest her phone in it, or using the electronic thumb and index finger to pinch something.
"This has been a lot more than just functional for me. It has been also emotional for me in the sense that, before, I was not happy with what I had," said Uzcategui, 43, as she sat inside the offices at Hanger Clinic in Tamarac, Fla., where she works in customer support for recent amputees.
The native Venezuelan was born without the right arm below the elbow and without three fingers on her left hand due to amniotic band syndrome, which restricts blood flow in utero and affects development.
Since age 3, she has had about 15 skin-hued prosthetics, which she found cumbersome because they only allowed an open-and-close hand movement.
"I was frustrated. I needed something better. I needed to be more functional," said Uzcategui, who came to the United States 20 years ago, teaching Spanish in North Carolina and then Pennsylvania. She moved to Broward County nine years ago, working as an education trainer with Rosetta Stone.
"I just wasn't satisfied with who I was, who I could be. I wanted to be more."
Her new device, which weighs about a pound, uses a microprocessor to run five fully functional fingers. It has six embedded electrodes that read the user's muscle contractions in the limb. Those signals cause the arm to flex the fingers and open and close the palm.
In all, it has 24 movements. It is powered by a rechargeable battery the company recommends should be replaced annually.
And there's another perk. "I never wore short sleeves before," she said, because it brought attention to her prosthetic. But she's proud of this new limb.
Since being fitted with the electronic limb in July, Uzcategui shares her experience with anyone who asks in her daily travels, but especially with other patients at the Hanger clinic, where she works as a liaison or an "empower coordinator" who guides recent amputees as they adapt to life without a limb. She accompanies them to doctor appointments and provides emotional support.
"I am kind of like their navigator and help them understand what to expect, what is going to happen, kind of giving them a light to show them the way and help them embrace their new selves and prepare for the new chapter," Uzcategui said.
Matthew Klein, Uzcategui's prosthetist at Hanger, has seen how the device has helped enhance her life. While larger versions of the i-limb have been available, it had to be customized for the hands of the 5-foot-1-inch woman.
"These hands, in general, have evolved quite a bit in the last five to seven years, and they have all been too large for her hand," Klein said. "She would come in with a somewhat antiquated hand, but it would look like a gigantic fake hand on her."
Uzcategui was given the prosthesis by the clinic, so she can provide feedback to improve the device for others, Klein said.
The average cost to fit an i-limb quantum ranges from $80,000 to $120,000, according to the manufacturer's spokesman, who said that insurance companies may cover some costs. In an interview with the Miami Herald published July 21, Klein estimated the cost could be $90,000 with insurance coverage.
The arm comes with a smartphone application that helps Uzcategui learn how to make specific movements.
"I can hold my bag a lot more comfortably than before. Just a little bit of everything, the day-to-day, holding silverware as well. I can hold a glass more comfortably and elegantly as well. The fingers wrap around the shape of the object," Uzcategui said.
"I am just really thrilled by what I can do right now," she added. "It's like a new me."
Celia Storey added some information to this report.
ActiveStyle on 08/31/2015