Khy Antoniazzo is on his way to becoming a "bionic man" of sorts.
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The 19-year-old suffered a traumatic brain injury after a motor vehicle accident two years ago. While he was in hospital in a coma, he suffered a stroke that paralysed the left side of his body.
Massive amounts of rehabilitation helped him regain the use of his leg, although he does wear an electronic device to help control his foot. But his left arm remained virtually non-responsive - a tough proposition for the left-handed youngster from Worrigee, near Nowra on the NSW South Coast.
But thanks to a collaboration between his caseworker/physiotherapist Damien Barratt, who works with Illawarra Brain Injury Service, and prosthetist and orthotist, Jens Baufeldt, of Extremity Prosthetics and Orthotics in Nowra, regaining full use of his arm is a possibility.
In what is believed to be an Australian first, Khy has been fitted with a new Myoma (My Own Motion) MyoPro powered arm and hand orthosis (brace) designed to help restore function to paralysed or weakened upper extremities.
Electrodes in the device pick up muscle-innervated signals, nerve and electrical pulses, and helps Khy perform actions and daily activities that might otherwise be impossible.
"I woke up after the accident with my left side completely not working," Khy said.
"My neurological pathways were severed during the accident but they are reactivating and appear to be slowly coming back.
"I just have to get the muscle and brain pathways to return and eventually I will hopefully recover the use of my left arm and get some of my independence back.
"It feels amazing. I haven't been able to use my left hand for the past two years and I was left-handed."
A battery driven motor allows the device to open and close Khy's arm at the elbow.
"The machine will allow Khy to straighten his arm," Jens said.
"Often it is impossible for people who suffer strokes to straighten their arm, or vice versa to bend it - they get stuck with their arm tucked into their chest and can't straighten it."
"This machine pics up on Khy's electrical muscle impulses and allows him to voluntarily straighten his arm when he relaxes," Damien said.
The device, which weighs between 500 grams and a kilogram, comes from the US and is imported by Melbourne-based company NeuroMuscular Orthotics (NMO).
Khy will continue his rehabilitation with Nowra Allied Health Care Centre.
"I'm going pretty good compared to where I was two years ago. I was bed bound and wheelchair bound - now I'm walking around with a robot arm - it's pretty cool."