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Bionic Arm Provides Hope for Amputees
Static-MT writes to mention a CNN article about what doctors are referring to as the first thought-controlled artificial limb. Arm owner Jesse Sullivan has two prosthetic limbs, and the left one is an advanced prototype in development by the folks at DARPA. From the article: "Sullivan's bionic arm represents an advance over typical artificial arms, like the right-arm prosthesis he uses, which has a hook and operates with sequential motions. There is no perceivable delay in the motions of Sullivan's flesh-colored, plastic-like left arm. Until now, it has been nearly impossible to recreate the subtle and complex motion of a human arm."
Lets give this guy a hand.
We can rebuild him.
Rebuild him... better... stronger... faster...
Medical electronics are just entering a new age.
:)
Research now ongoing that I am aware of:
-- Transponder system to provide electronic relay between severed spinal cord sections.
-- Artificial eye that connects to the optic nerve.
Those two are "out there" with no products out in time for christmas.
However there are heaps of things now on the market (pacemakers, insulin pumps, etc, etc)
and more to come. All for the good.
www.effectiveelectrons.com "chips that work" Analog, RF, Mixed Signal
And that's why you ALWAYS leave a note.
If you check out the various videos, they also have a short demo of touch: the same re-wiring of nerves to the pectoral muscle can be used for feedback. In the case of the female patient, she has two fingers worth of touch, and it's pressure sensitive.
Very impressive.
Easy for you to say (assuming your nervous system is intact). Every para/quadraplegic ("paralyzed") person I know has told me they much prefer getting senation back than motion. We already have all kinds of tech for motion that need not be bionic - down to the crutch. But sensation is even more important to feeling human. And in various scenarios, we're all blind/deaf/numb.
This bionic arm is is an excellent advance, and worthy of every congratulation. But when talking about "the next step", the experts say it's sensation.
--
make install -not war
>I get a little irked at the "hope for amputees thing". One of my best
:)
>friends has an arm to the elbow only, and he doesn't need any hope -
>he's just fine.
Yep. My son was born with no arms or legs, and he is amazing. He's still just a baby (OK, almost "toddler") and he rolls everywhere, manipulates stuff with his arm stubs (1" or less), and just astounds us with what he can do.
He's being fitted for a "training arm" with no elbow now (a lengthy process of taking molds, making "test sockets", checking the fit, coming back, etc.), and I have no idea how he's going to react when he actually gets it. It'll be cool for some things, but I bet his first reaction will be to be ticked off that he can't roll so easily
I know this was a joke, but actually it's pretty interesting. She doesn't feel it on her chest she feels it on her arm (the one that isn't their anymore). The weird thing is that their are parts of her chest that you can poke her in, and she will feel it in her arm (so its sort of the opposite of what you were suggesting)
This, of course is the result of some pretty cutting edge surgery.