OHSU trauma surgeon Albert Chi is on the cutting edge of both low–, high–tech prosthetics.
Chi arrived at OHSU in 2016 after a distinguished career with the targeted muscle reinnervation program at Johns Hopkins University. As a trauma surgeon with expertise in biomedical engineering, Chi has earned a reputation as one of the nation’s leading experts on improving the lives of people with traumatic injuries or congenital conditions.

Chi enables patients to control their prosthetics simply by thinking of the actions they want to perform. Targeted muscle reinnervation, or TMR, is cutting–edge technology inspired by some of the most memorable works of science fiction. In fact, Chi vividly recalls the scene in “The Empire Strikes Back” when Luke Skywalker gets a perfectly operable artificial hand to replace the one cut off by villain Darth Vader. In this galaxy, targeted muscle reinnervation works through a surgical procedure that reassigns existing nerves to the tasks required of prosthetic arms.

“By reassigning existing nerves, we can make it possible for people who have had upper–arm amputations to control their prosthetic devices merely by thinking about the action they want to perform,” Chi said.

The devices that come with such an intensive surgical procedure are sophisticated and expensive. Children with congenital limb reductions are not candidates for TMR, and prosthetics are often cost–prohibitive for children due to the need to be refitted as they grow. In 2013, Chi had just delivered a presentation to a congenital limb–loss group about the latest developments in targeted muscle reinnervation when a mother asked him about the potential for 3D printing to provide a lower–cost alternative. Chi soon partnered with the nonprofit Enabling the Future to begin building and distributing low–cost prosthetics using freely distributed designs. Using a 3D printer at his home, he’s dedicated many hours of his own time to build and fit dozens of these prosthetics, although Jude Rochon’s is the first in Oregon.

At OHSU, Chi is continuing to focus his research and clinical practice on people who have lost their limbs through trauma, infection, cancer or combat, as well as those, like Jude, who were born without limbs.