Artificial arm, Roehampton, England, 1964

Pair of CO2 powered upper limb prostheses for a 12 year old boy Pair of CO2 powered upper limb prostheses for a 12 year old boy

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Pair of CO2 powered upper limb prostheses for a 12 year old boy
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Pair of CO2 powered upper limb prostheses for a 12 year old boy
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Pair of CO2 powered upper limb prostheses for a 12 year old boy who lost both arms, above the elbow, at 8 years of age. Leather sockets with valves mounted for stump control, to activate powered wrist rotation units. Body-powered split-hooks by means of Bowden cables, routed to outer side of each arm. Compound pulley device for elbow lock control. 31 gramme CO2 gas cylinder in leather holster, carried on trouser belt. Made by Steeper 1964.

This is a gas-powered upper limb prosthesis. It was made for a 12 year-old boy who lost both arms above the elbow aged eight. Each prosthesis has valves mounted on the leather sockets. These allow control of the wrist rotation units by the limb stumps. Split-hooks are attached to both hands. These movements are powered by a CO2 gas cylinder. This is carried on the trouser belt in a leather holster.

Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton, Surrey is part of the NHS Trust who donated this prosthesis. The hospital was established as a specialist centre for fitting prosthetic limbs during the First World War. It is still an important centre for limb manufacture and fitting.

Details

Category:
Orthopaedics
Object Number:
1999-576
Materials:
metal, leather, textile and rubber
Measurements:
overall: 1.94kg
type:
artificial arm
credit:
Richmond Twickenham and Roehampton Healthcare NHS Trust