Amputee creates prosthetic arm for himself

Mark refused to accept that there were no prosthetic arms for him. So he has driven him to travel the world testing various alternatives and helping himself while also adding to the body of knowledge in the specialty of prosthetic limb technology.

The inventor, who works in a mechanic shop, tired a cosmetic arm, but it was useless. Later he bought a $80,000 sophisticated arm, but it wasn’t good for his machine-shop work.

So Mark kept looking for solutions. He went to Sweden, where doctors screwed a bolt into the few centimeters of bone in his upper arm. This bone implant surgery was not, at the time, approved in the United States or Australia.

"The bolt gave me the shoulder function back," Mark explained. Using the bolt as a base allows him to point the arm and feel connected to it.

After the surgery, the mechanic heard about the Carnes Arm, an old, but sophisticated and mechanical prosthetic arm. It was developed by the American William T. Carnes and patented from the year 1911. Mark bought one for himself and started working on it.

Inspired by the century-old device, Mark decided to reinvent the arm, replacing certain parts. His Carnes Arm has new, lightweight materials above the elbow, but uses the original fingers and wrist rotation system.

The inventor contacted the descendants of William Carnes because he felt a kinship to the arm's inventor.

"They encouraged me to research the history of their family. They're proud of their grandfather's achievements and were encouraging me to tell the world."

Adapted from: http://bit.ly/2rFBhUs

More info: http://www.marklesek.com.au
https://youtu.be/LeiKjLWIgPw