23rd March 2026
Most people arrive at their first prosthetic fitting appointment with a lot of questions and not much else. That is completely understandable. The fitting process is unfamiliar, and it can be hard to know what to expect, let alone what to prepare.
But there is one thing you can do to make a meaningful difference at your appointment: bring objects from your own life.
Come prepared, with tangible goals for your prosthetist to work with. Your goals, your daily tasks, your routines are the things that should shape how your device is fitted and the training that follows. A stack of clinic props can only take you so far.
Prosthetic fittings — and particularly delivery appointments for myoelectric devices like the Hero Arm, Hero PRO, and Hero RGD — involve testing grip patterns, adjusting sensitivity, and learning how the device responds to your muscle signals.
What you can grip is important. A cup is a reasonable starting point, but it does not tell the full story of how you live. A fishing rod does. A set of jewelry-making tools does. An insulin pen does.
Emily Shannon, a certified prosthetist at the Open Bionics clinic in Orlando, Florida, encourages her patients to bring specific items to their delivery appointments. The practice came from watching patients engage more deeply when the tasks felt personally relevant.
I always encourage patients to bring in something specific to them. A cup and a fork are obvious, but the real breakthroughs happen when someone walks in with their fishing pole or their golf club.
Emily Shannon, certified prosthetist, Open Bionics clinic, Orlando, FloridaIt makes a big difference in engagement and the training that follows. When a patient picks up something they care about using, the session becomes more focused and goal-oriented. It is no longer just a demonstration.
A fitting should reflect your actual life — not a generic checklist of grip exercises.
The right objects depend on your life, your work, and the tasks you most want to address. These categories are a useful starting point.
Everyday grip tasks
Tools and hobby items
Fitness and activity items
Building or construction items
Children’s items are welcome too, particularly if you are a parent and daily caregiving tasks are a priority.
One detail that often surprises patients and clinicians alike is how much the texture of an object affects performance. Slick surfaces are harder to grip than textured ones, regardless of the device.
During a recent Hero PRO demonstration, Emily noticed this clearly when comparing grip performance on smooth versus textured surfaces.
It is not something you would automatically think about, but the texture of the fingertips matters enormously. Anything slick — a glass, a Lego piece, a pill bottle — tells you a lot about how a hand is going to perform in real life.
Emily Shannon, certified prosthetist, Open Bionics clinic, Orlando, FloridaThe Hero PRO‘s fingertip and thumb material is designed with grip in mind, particularly for precision pinch tasks. The key grip, which positions the thumb against the side of the index finger, was added specifically because of how frequently patients need lateral hold for real-world tasks. Bringing objects that challenge this kind of grip gives your prosthetist useful information early in the process.
Prosthetists see common requests. Many patients want to use utensils again, type more easily, or carry objects without switching grip modes. These are legitimate and important goals.
Some goals are completely individual. Robert wanted to fish. Someone else came in with jewelry-making tools. A patient brought his golf club because he could not describe what he needed in words — he needed to show it.
For people who have lived with a limb difference for a long time, or who have not worn a prosthesis in years, the goals can be less defined. In those cases, the fitting appointment becomes part of the process of figuring out what you want. Bringing objects you interact with daily helps surface that.
The more a patient contributes to the session — by bringing something or making a suggestion about what they want to do — the more engaged they stay in the process.
Emily Shannon, certified prosthetist, Open Bionics clinic, Orlando, Florida
Our clinical team runs delivery appointments that include hands-on grip training, mode switching practice, and sensitivity calibration through the Sidekick App. The session is a practical one, and the more your prosthetist knows about your life, the more they can tailor what gets prioritized.
If you are coming with a child, consider bringing objects your child cares about — school supplies, toys, or anything they have mentioned wanting to hold or use. Pediatric fittings are more effective when the tasks feel meaningful to the child, and children are often better at demonstrating their goals than describing them.
Bringing a handful of objects to your fitting appointment takes almost no preparation. The impact on the session can be significant.
The more you can show them, the better equipped they are to do that.
If you are preparing for a Hero Arm or Hero PRO fitting and want to know more about what to expect, speak with an Open Bionics clinician. Consultations are free, and they are a good starting point for anyone beginning to explore their options.
Speak with an Open Bionics clinician. Consultations are free and a good starting point for anyone beginning to look into the Hero Arm or Hero PRO.
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