The Hand Project FAQ

Depending on the load and care, the prostheses function for several years. We know of some recipients who have been using their prosthesis every day for a good five years. In the case of heavy work, for example a recipient in India working as a stonemason again after receiving the prosthesis, a prosthesis can sometimes break. However, we have not been aware of any signs of wear so far.

So far this has not been necessary. All of the hands distributed in the last 5 years are, to our knowledge, still in use (and a few have rarely been used). All components are extremely resilient, corrosion-resistant and almost wear-free. In addition, each recipient has the contact data from TheHandProject and could contact them if necessary.

Yes there is. The prostheses assembled during the events are at the same time the origin and the most important prostheses. They make it possible to hold, lift or move things. The recipients can, for example, hold a spoon - i.e. eat independently - or write. They are also called "tool-hand" to distinguish them from further developments.

The "tool-hand" is the origin of the HandProject. It is a purely mechanical prosthesis and consists of a "hand-like" plastic body with three fixed fingers and two movable fingers. The movable fingers can snap into (almost) any position and hold small objects such as spoons, pens or cups, but also broomsticks, pot handles or bicycle handlebars. There are also examples where the recipients use it to plant rice, work as a stonemason or drive a moped. With a small tilting movement, the movable fingers are relaxed again and can be repositioned.

The "cosmetic hand" stems from the understandable desire of many recipients to "look as normal as possible". It is modeled on the shape of the human hand as closely as possible. It currently comes from the 3D printer and is currently being produced in four sizes (S, M, L and XL) and each in the versions on the right and left. This effort is not covered by the events, but exclusively by donations.

The "toy hand" is intended to help children to overcome their fear of contact with the relatively technical tool hand. It's designed in color and shape more like a sturdy toy to pound and dig with. It's also great for hitting the big brother 😉.

In the case of victims of accidents and violence, amputations are often also carried out above the elbow. Unfortunately, the missing joint reduces the usable possibilities of a hand prosthesis considerably. The mechanical elbow allows the recipient to move the prosthetic hand to a similar extent as a natural elbow. The elbow is also purely mechanical, i.e. it is moved manually. The elbow can be fixed in any position. Previous prototypes were produced in a 3D printer, the current first small series (2022) comes from a 3D powder laser system. With the newly developed simple elbow prosthesis, the recipients regain a small part of the lost functions. The purely mechanical elbow prosthesis snaps into different positions, similar to the tool hand, and can be rotated by around 30,,,45 degrees. As a result, a tool hand attached to it can possibly be guided to the mouth with the shoulder muscles. Writing movements or carrying light objects are also possible.

The use of thermoplastic material makes it possible to find individual solutions for attachment to the respective recipient. This is necessary because every amputation is different (see Does the prosthesis fit everyone?)

There are actually several reasons for this. On the one hand, the hand prostheses of TheHandProject are usually used in a very harsh environment. Really tight roofs and dirt-free rooms are the exception rather than the rule. "Our" recipients live in refugee camps, work as rice farmers, locksmiths or craftsmen. Apart from technology according to military standards, electronics quickly reach their performance limits. In addition, there is no power supply or only irregularly.

This is clearly due to the fact that the circumstances are completely different. While in Germany practically every person present is entitled and also has the chance of the maximum possible medical care, in the countries in which TheHandProject is active, the need and availability of "hand prostheses" are far apart. Since there are incredibly many more needy people than prostheses available, it is far fairer to help a large number of people with the simplest (but effective) means than to provide a very small number of people with luxury options.

The following applies to the function:

The basic idea goes back to a project from the USA. This basic variant was refined as part of TheHandProject, improved functionality was achieved with new materials, a different production process enables higher quality of the individual parts and various other in-house developments improve the possible uses and acceptance by the recipients. In addition, the actual prosthesis was supplemented with additional elements such as the elbow, the cosmetic hand and the thermoplastic material, making it much more functional and helpful for the recipients.

On the one hand, there are the plastic parts that are injection molded as a complete set. They are more precisely manufactured, the material is tougher (i.e. more resilient) and they have handle inserts made of a non-slip material, which makes handling better and safer in use.

This is clearly due to the fact that the circumstances are completely different. While in Germany practically every person present is entitled and also has the chance of the maximum possible medical care, in the countries in which TheHandProject is active, the need and availability of "hand prostheses" are far apart. Since there are incredibly many more needy people than prostheses available, it is far fairer to help a large number of people with the simplest (but effective) means than to provide a very small number of people with luxury options.

Technical:

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We currently have three different variants of the team event at TheHandProject.

With minor differences, depending on whether it is a face-to-face event, an online event or a hybrid event, the event consists of

The total duration of an event in TheHandProject is about 2.5 - 3 hours. It can be reduced to about 2 hours using a few organizational options or - without being long-winded - extended to about 4 hours. The larger the number of participants, the longer the time slot for the event must be.

That depends on the type of event, see face-to-face event, online event and hybrid event.

- Location: Germany,

- All participants and our team are gathered in the same place at the same time,

- All participants and our team are connected online from different locations at the same time,

- Participants are gathered in one place or

The company can benefit on different levels. These are:

TheHandProject makes it tangible for every participant that "you can do something yourself" and the examples shown prove the effect of your own commitment. In addition, there is a real chance that a photo will come back with the recipient and the bag designed by the team - which reinforces these effects because it gives the aid a concrete face.

TheHandProject wants to create a real bridge between people in our western world and people in other parts of the planet. The received help gets a real face at the recipient in the form of a team photo of the assembled group. The aid that has arrived gets a real face for the donors in the form of a photo of the recipient with their own bag in their hands. Both connect the different worlds much better than the impersonal (yet important) donation here and the impersonal (yet important) truckload of rice there.

Clear yes!

That would also be conceivable - if we had the resources to deal with the legal and economic rules of the game in Uganda or Ghana and someone to finance the whole thing. In addition, someone would be needed to set up and manage this production on site full-time and get on well with the regional giants, from authorities to the mafia... So a clear "no", that's an idea from well-meaning but completely inexperienced people in well-heated cafés.

Since every person and every amputation is individual, the prostheses must be adapted to the needs and circumstances of the respective recipient. This requires personal contact - shipping via DHL & Co. It does not work. We call these actions to adjust the hand prostheses at the recipients "fitting days". This means both the individual concrete event at a certain location and the overall action in the respective developing country.

TheHandProject started as a "one-man project" with events in Germany and fitting days in India and Ghana.

The hardest problem is actually finding the recipients. Even if network coverage is significantly better in many areas of Asia and Africa than in parts of Germany, most amputees do not look online for solutions to their amputation. An online offer only selectively reaches the "right" people.

The potential recipients are usually introduced to us in advance (photo, short story, age, if possible the circumstances of the amputation and the current condition). This primarily serves to prevent major disappointments, because it is also true that TheHandProject cannot help in every case . This applies, for example, to ulcers or atrophy at the amputation sites, but also to other special circumstances.

Depending on the country, cooperation partner and region, the concrete fitting day is very different.