Table Tennis Athlete Fitted With COVVI’s Cutting-Edge Bionic Hand

Italian-born Elisa Trotti was recently fitted with her COVVI Hand at the Officina Ortopedica Maria Adelaide in Turin.

Elisa has played table tennis at a national level in Italy for the past fifteen years. After a motorcycle accident that led to the amputation of her dominant playing arm, Elisa spent nine years teaching herself to play the sport with her left arm.

“Learning to use my left arm was an incredible challenge. I trained hard for more than two years before returning to compete,” Elisa recounted. “The perspective with which you look at the table changes, in addition to your posture and playing technique.”

Since returning to competitive play in 2019, Elisa is now placed 160 out of 600 in the Italian national rankings and continues to challenge opponents from around the country, despite having to learn the sport anew.

In 2017 Elisa had the opportunity to try her first prosthesis: “It was an aesthetic limb and honestly it wasn’t what I wanted, since it didn’t allow me to do activities,” she said. “It wasn’t very functional.”

Over the years, Elisa has become accustomed to carrying out work using just one limb, until about six months ago, when she turned to the Officina Ortopedica Maria Adelaide for the latest in bionic technology.

Staff at Officina Ortopedica Maria Adelaide created the myoelectric prosthesis for Elisa and fit her with COVVI’s bionic hand. Through electrodes that detect slight muscle movements, COVVI users have the ability to activate up to 24+ different grips, each useful for performing daily tasks and common gestures.

“Even though I couldn’t use it to compete, for some time I felt the need to try something new: a prosthesis that would give me the concrete possibility of improving the quality of my days. In addition, my empty sleeve was starting to bother me, as well as the idea of ​​always having to use only one arm to do everything. In short, I felt ready to make another important change in my life,” Elisa said. “I am really happy with this prosthesis! It’s nice to be able to use my right hand again, this represents a big step forward.”

Roberto Ariagno, Director of the Maria Adelaide Orthopedic Workshop said, “Elisa will now be able to operate the flexion and extension of the elbow and open and close her hand through muscle contractions. The dedicated COVVI Go app will provide her the ability to change through various menus to use different grips. This myoelectric system that allows Elisa to both perform precise work and have a strong grip.”

“It’s always incredible to hear the stories of each and every user of our bionic hand,” COVVI CEO, Simon Pollard, commented. “Elisa is no exception. The drive that she has demonstrated to relearn her chosen sport using a different arm and still be able to compete at a national level is undeniable. All of us here at COVVI are excited to hear more about her prosthetic journey. I’m certain that with the support from Officina Ortopedica and the functionality of the COVVI Hand, there is so much that she will be able to achieve.”