The team conducted research to improve our background knowledge on both the tasks and target users. All questions and answers are included below.
Research Questions:
Statistics & Demographics:
The overwhelming majority of upper extremity amputation is due to trauma, consisting of 77% of these amputations. Trauma related amputations could affect demographics working in blue-collar, higher risk jobs. The next largest leading cause is congenital amputation, consisting of 8.9%. Congenital amputation can be hereditary and affected by environment. This could therefore also affect more low income, blue collar demographics [3].
In the united states there are approximately 41,000 people in the US with an upper extremity amputation (~0.0125% of US Population)[2]. Upper extremity amputations are about 1:4 to lower extremity amputations[1].
Sports is a common cause of upper extremity injuries and disabilities. Rotator cuff tendinitis is common among baseball and tennis players as rapid and repeated arm motion can cause inflammation of the shoulder joint. Another common sports injury is Lateral Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow). This is caused by over extension of the forearm muscle [4]. A third injury of the upper extremity is shoulder dislocation which is often caused by sports or falls [5].
A household with at least one additional person impacts the design and use of a kitchen solution for a one armed individual. With someone to help around the house, the kitchen solution can easily be put away, properly attached, and setup. This will in turn Improve the use of the tool for the individual.
Resources:
Current Products:
- How are the products manufactured?
- How is the product built for left-handed versus right-handed people?
- Are there any existing solutions on the market for our problem?
- What are the costs of these current product?
- Is the current product user friendly?
- What tasks does the current product help with?
- Are bionic products compatible in this situation?
- Can users afford a compatible tool like a bionic upper extremity?
There are many products on the market for preparing and eating food with one arm, but very few out there for doing dishes with one arm. A google search easily comes up with can openers, knives, cutting boards, strainers, choppers, and much more. It seems that there are very few products out there for people to do their dishes after the fact. It seems like a bit of an oversight.
Dish washing one handed (YouTube link)
This user, Zarah, from the YouTube video above, describes her current method of washing dishes with one hand. She uses $0.99 scrubbers she gets from the dollar store, that she says are getting increasingly difficult to find anywhere. Several of these scrubbers look similar to a toilet brush with different shapes of the handle and sizes of the bristles. She uses her other dishes in the sink to stabilize a bowl so that it does not move around as much as she scrubs it with her scrubber. She also shoves a cup into the drain so that it will be stabilized as she shoves one of the scrub brushes in to wash the inside. She mentioned that it currently takes her hours to do an entire load of dishes and often requires help from her husband. Her current method is one of the cheapest since it utilizes many items she already has in her home such as other dirty dishes, the drain, and $0.99 scrub brushes, but it does not seem to be the most efficient method. She could benefit from another product that could help her do dishes more easily.
One of the only products out currently out there that could be useful is this scrubbing sink attachment:
The attachment sells currently for $11.84 on Amazon and attaches to the users’ sink via the suction cups on the bottom. The bristles on the main cone of the brush work well to get the inside of the cup, and the user could easily rotate the cup around the bristles from the second brush attachment to wash the outside of the cup. This could also be used for bowls or plates if you rotate the dish around using a similar method. Depending on if a user is left or right-handed, they could put the product in a different position in their sink to meet their needs. This product would work well for doing basic dishes, but would not be able to scrub deeply on pots and pans that have stuck-on dirt and grime.
https://www.jamesdysonaward.org/en-GB/2016/project/oneware/
This product, called the Oneware, is a part of a series of kitchen tools designed by a student in Singapore for people with one hand. He won Ikea’s Young Designer Award with these designs back in 2016. It does not appear that his product has gone into any sort of production since he won the award, and it is unlikely that you will see it in stores anytime soon. Ideas like this are a great possibility for people to do their dishes with only one arm.
Another possibility to eliminate the need for one-handed products is considering a bionic prosthetic arm. Modern technology has advanced enough that many of these bionic arms would work to assist in doing dishes if the user is missing an arm. However, according to Unlimited Tomorrow (https://www.unlimitedtomorrow.com/pricing/), the price for a higher end bionic arm can range from $8,000 up to $20,000. This is out of the price range for what many users are looking for. There is also a danger to damage some of the components within a bionic arm if it gets excessively wet, so doing large amounts of dishes with the arm is also ill-advised.
Current Events:
- Are there any current innovations taking place for this subject of problem?
- Are there any sort of adaptive “trainings” for people who need to learn how to be self-sufficient with their disability?
There are many innovations out there for people with only one arm. There is a wide range of highly innovative prosthetic arms including a bionic drummer arm, a prosthetic with a sense of touch, and a metal gear solid artificial arm. Some of the prosthetic arms that are on the market have features that are not even on most people’s phones. Those features include a USB charge port, a flashlight, laser pointer, and decorative LED lighting. Most innovation for amputees are designed around providing a product that (like a prosthetic arm) allows them to be able to function as if they never lost an arm. This may be because it is easier to design everyday products for the average human than the extreme ones who are missing an arm or a leg. Since not all amputees wear prosthetic arms, there are innovative kitchen products on the market for one-handed people. Those items include non-slip mats, holders, jar openers, and dinnerware that suctions to the table.
There is a plethora of trainings and videos for people who have a disability and need to learn how to be self-sufficient. A quick google search shows videos for crossfit adaptive training amputees, adapted kayaking training for amputee, cleaning your kitchen as an amputee, amputee gym, and many more. There is not one singular universal training for new amputees, but there are plenty of resources for them to learn how to perform their daily tasks. For instance, if an amputee wanted to learn how to clean their kitchen they could watch a 6 minute youtube video titled “Amputee washing dishes one-handed/ Cleaning the kitchen one-handed”.
Bing, Microsoft, https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=kitchen%2Bcleaning%2Bfor%2Bamputee&view=detail&mid=97698C21B7C6A718BBC497698C21B7C6A718BBC4&FORM=VIRE.
Harrell, Author: Wesley. “5 Innovative Prosthetic Products on the Market: 101 Mobility®.” 101 Mobility, 6 Sept. 2017, https://www.101mobility.com/blog/2017/september/the-5-most-innovative-prosthetic-products-on-the/#:~:text=%20The%205%20Most%20Innovative%20Prosthetic%20Products%20on,Artificial%20Arm.%20It%E2%80%99s%20something%20straight%20out…%20More%20.
“Kitchen Products for One-Handed People.” The Wright Stuff, https://blog.thewrightstuff.com/one- handed-kitchen-products/.
Standards & Best Practices:
- Is there a list of standards for amputees to do certain tasks?
- Who provides training for amputees?
- What is the current research for this subject area?
There is no list of standards for an amputee to do the dishes. Guides exist for amputees including “A patient’s guide for completing activities of daily living with one hand” from the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital of London. In this guide, it is first suggested that when possible, amputees wash dishes using the dishwasher. When this is not possible, it is suggested that a hand pump soap dispenser is used, one item is washed at a time, and suction pads are used to keep items in place. More information can be found here.
Following surgery amputees begin physical therapy. This will typically be intensive therapy, especially close to the time of amputation. Therapy may take place for several hours a day, five days a week. This therapy is administered by a nursing team and other health professionals. Other trainings come from organizations and other individuals online. One organization that provides training in the form of articles is Arm Dynamics. Arm Dynamics is the “most experienced upper limb prosthetic care provider in the world”, and they have created a community space for articles, written by amputees, to be shared with anyone who has an upper limb difference.
Much research today is related to prosthetics and not completion of tasks with a single limb.
Resources:
Amputee Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation
Life Hacks for People with Upper Limb Loss
Getting Yourself Back on Track
Lifestyle
- What are the most challenging tasks around the house for someone with one arm and/or a prosthetic arm?
- Is there a video series or someone on social media who documents their life with one arm?
- Research about temporary upper extremity disabilities (broken arms, sprained wrists, etc.)
Numerous household tasks become especially difficult for individuals when they are restricted to the use of one arm. In the kitchen, these tasks include, but are not limited to, preparing ingredients to cook, holding bowls in place, carrying cookware and food, and opening and closing containers. In response to tasks that have become more challenging with the use of only one arm, a number of “life hacks” have been developed. Some products exist, like the ones mentioned in paragraphs above, to combat these challenges, but they are not all solved.
Living with only one arm is not easy, and there are a number of vloggers who have channels on sites like Youtube and TikTok where they share about their daily lives with one arm. These people include Iris Pavelic, Jennie Sands, Kristie Sita, and Daniel Young. They encourage people living in a similar situation and let them know they are not limited in their potential just because they only have one arm. These channels also provide easily accessible insights into how daily tasks are performed by these individuals.
As mentioned in the statistics section, there is less than 0.1% of the US population living with an upper extremity amputation. A larger percentage of the population, however, lives with a temporary upper extremity condition that limits their use of more than one arm. Fractures in the arm account for nearly half of all broken bones in adults. When an injury occurs to an upper extremity such as a break or fracture in the arm, immobilization of that arm is required, meaning it cannot be used for a period of time. According to a source, it is normally 6-8 weeks before a cast can be taken off of a broken arm, which can be especially long and challenging for an individual who lives alone and has never had to make the adjustment to using just one arm. With millions of bones being broken each year, there is a significant portion of the population afflicted by the challenge of using one arm to perform regular tasks.
Resources
- Life Hacks for People with Upper Limb Loss
- Kitchen Tips for Upper Limb Amputees – Cutting and Chopping
- No Limbits – Iris Pavelic
- The Youngs
- A Survey on Activities of Daily Living and Occupations of Upper Extremity Amputees
- Broken Arm or Wrist
- 10 Broken Arm Facts: Symptoms, Treatment, and Pain Relief
- https://www.mediniche.com/fracture.html