Should there be amputation at the base of two or three fingers only, with no impairment in the movements of the remaining one or two, so that they can be brought in firm contact with the thumb, what is left of such a mutilated hand is far more useful than anything that can possibly be made to supplement it, but to conceal the loss and give the hand a more perfect appearance, fingers can be made and applied as represented by No. 302, over which a glove should be worn.
Nos. 303 and 304 ([page 64]) show an apparatus useful in all kinds of labor for persons who have undergone a partial amputation of the hand. It consists of a leather sheath, laced to the forearm. Attached to the under surface of this sheath is a steel plate, which extends downward under the stump, turning up slightly at the end. At the end is an aperture through which it is possible to slip the handles of tools and implements, passing them beneath the stump, where they are securely held in place by pressure of the stump. Price $20.
No. 305 represents a stump after an amputation of all the fingers and thumb, and No. 306 an artificial wooden hand for same, with stationary fingers and articulated thumb with a powerful spring to be opened with the assistance of the sound hand. Price $40.
Rubber Hand
With the assistance of the other hand, or by pressing against some resisting body, the ductile rubber fingers of the hand No. 307 may be changed in position to suit the needs of the wearer as shown by the dotted lines in the illustration. For those who prefer the rubber to the wooden hand it will be furnished with any of the arms we make. It can be attached permanently to the forearm, detachable at the wrist, with provision for using a hook of other implement in place of the hand, or furnished with a palm socket and lock for the use of hook, knife, fork, etc., without removing the hand. See No. 308.
Connections
No. 309 represents a new method for connecting the hand and arm. Heretofore the devices in use could not be absolutely relied upon to keep the hand or tools in place. It mattered not how strongly the fingers were made for lifting heavy weights, the customary spring or set-screw used for locking this connection was liable to loosen or give way without warning and cause much annoyance, if not injury. On the hand plate two studs are riveted, the heads of which pass into keyholes in the arm plate. With a slight turn of the hand the heads pass into the slots of the keyholes, bringing the heads of the studs under the arm plate; they are kept immovable with a spring that automatically slips into a slot in the edge of the plate; the spring is released by a pressure of the thumb of the sound hand in twisting the artificial hand off. The hook and other tools have a lug at the end of the spindle or shank; after passing the shank through the hole in the center of the arm plate, it is turned to any desired position and held firmly in place with the wing nut, as shown in No. 310.
