# Artificial Digit Replacements for Women Veterans with Individual Digit Loss

> **NIH VA I01** · VA EASTERN COLORADO HEALTH CARE SYSTEM · 2024 · —

## Abstract

The largest population of upper limb amputees are those with partial hand amputations. This population
outnumbers all other levels of upper limb amputees by a factor of 10. Therefore, a significant clinical impact can
be made if a product serves this population effectively. The care of Veterans with upper limb amputations
requires a highly individualized approach to medicine. Each Veteran brings a unique presentation to the clinic
including levels of amputation, lifestyles, personal experience, and other medical indicators. They tend to be
highly active individuals with the need for a prosthesis to keep up with their daily life.
Prosthetists and occupational therapists work with each Veteran to provide a personalized medical solution using
available components and technologies on the open market. Often, a return to optimized function is limited by
the solutions available on the market, which provide insufficient durability, function, or a combination. To
compound this issue, no commercially available prosthetic finger is appropriately sized for the full range of female
hand sizes. Consequently, certain women Veterans with partial hand amputations are unable to obtain a
prosthesis that meets their needs.
To date, the VA Biomechatronics Development Laboratory (BDL) has developed a ratcheting prosthetic digit,
the Point Digit, that is now commercially available for use in partial hand prostheses. Through our prior Merit
Award [1I01RX002830], we successfully redesigned and prototyped this technology – the Women’s Digit – to
permit it to be sized for a 5th percentile female while maintaining an industry leading strength to weight ratio and
novel ratcheting mechanism.
The mission of the VA Biomechatronics Development Laboratory is to innovate devices and algorithms in the
field of upper limb prosthetic design. For this project, the BDL will complete a prosthetic solution that will meet
the unique needs of women Veterans and be responsive to the VA RR&D Request for Proposals (RFP) to
develop female Veteran specific prosthetic components. We will build upon our previous work to finalize and
translate this device to the field. We will: 1) finalize development through iterative fitting and testing of the
Women’s Digit and 2) conduct a take-home trial of women Veterans fitted with the Women’s Digit to assess
device efficacy. Our goal is to provide an effective solution for women Veterans to ensure their ability to enjoy
work and home life to the fullest.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10817037
- **Project number:** 5I01RX002830-06
- **Recipient organization:** VA EASTERN COLORADO HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Richard Fergus ffrench Weir
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-10-01 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10817037

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10817037, Artificial Digit Replacements for Women Veterans with Individual Digit Loss (5I01RX002830-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10817037. Licensed CC0.

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