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Open-Source Prosthetics

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the a-hand-up dept.

D H NG writes "Wired News has a story about the non-profit Open Prosthetics Project. The organization was founded last year by Jonathan Kuniholm, a graduate student in biomedical engineering at Duke University who lost his arm below the elbow in Iraq. Open Prosthetics Project applies the ethical and intellectual property foundation of open-source software to the task of building better artificial limbs. So far, the project has produced a 'handful' of useful homebrew prosthetic hacks, and is closing in on a solution that would dramatically improve the functionality of the common hook device."

13 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. That's because... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    prosthetics with MS drivers had a tendency to inexplicably hurl chairs all over the place.

  2. Moving arm - From Jesse to now by From+A+Far+Away+Land · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just last week I heard amazing news.
    Bionic Arm.

    It's really important that almost anyone could obtain this independence restoring medical device should they need one. Open Source ought to help with that, since I can just see some company trying to own a part and charging $5000 for a chip that you could get for $5 in Hong Kong.

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    Oh You POS
  3. New O'Reilly Book? by saudadelinux · · Score: 2, Funny

    So, are they gonna do a "Prosthetics Hacks" book? I see a lot of interesting Perl scripts coming our way ;-)

    --
    I didn't think the house band in Hell would play this badly.
    1. Re:New O'Reilly Book? by From+A+Far+Away+Land · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Yes, you can program your arm to do stuff while you sleep."

      I'd expect it to run FoldingLaundry@Home.

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      Oh You POS
  4. I see a trend. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    First, it was 'Talk Like a Pirate' Day, then Microsoft released an "IE Patch", and now we're discussing hooks? Sounds like we'll have that global warming thing reversed in no time!

  5. Cybernetics on the cheap (albeit not Open Source) by rinkjustice · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The affordable, disposable implants and prosthetics industry is here now. You can buy three mainstream cybernetic devices for under $40 and six under $500!

    --
    SEO Copywriter. Just Say ON
  6. It's a pretty complicated situation by technoextreme · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The main problem is twofold. The human hand is complicated and we dam well lack any decent actuators. The human hand has a lot of degrees of freedoms. Our fingers can move a remarkable amount of ways. Now you have to realize that there aren't any actuators that can operate like muslces in small spaces without either taking up space or be bulky. Anyway the solution isn't going to come from a robotics person but a materials science.

    --
    Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
    1. Re:It's a pretty complicated situation by RsG · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Now you have to realize that there aren't any actuators that can operate like muslces in small spaces without either taking up space or be bulky.
      What about electroactive polymers? I mean if you want to talk about materials engineering in prosthetics, then it makes sense to look for a solution that's similar to what we already use (namely, muscles). You might even be able to duplicate the overall shape of the hand using a mix of these polymers as "muscle", and some other material as "bone".

      Admittedly, it might be neccessary to have an external battery pack to save space inside the artificial hand (since human muscles use metabolic energy, and we can't use that to power prosthetics yet), but that doesn't need to be in the same general area - a belt pack with a power cord up your sleve would do the trick and save on space.

      Reference:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroactive_polymer s
      --
      Erotic is when you use a feather. Exotic is when you use the whole chicken.
  7. tacky jokes by andyatkinson · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can't believe you'd make a joke like "a-hand-up" dept. or "handful" of hacks. If I met you, mano a mano, I'd know how to handle your type, you're nothing but two left hands, all hands and no action, I'd really hand it to you. You're lucky I'm at work now, I gotta take off for my All Hands meeting. I'm assuming someone will take the handoff here to pick up the good fight against types like you.

    1. Re:tacky jokes by Clever7Devil · · Score: 3, Funny

      I can't believe you'd stoop to taking such a topic so lightly Andy. This guy is doing something spectacular here. He's really out on a limb. We should all be thinking about how we can lend him a hand. After all, donating to causes like this doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Benefiting from them however . . .

      --
      "By the time they had diminished from 50 to 8, the other dwarves began to suspect 'Hungry.'" -Gary Larson
    2. Re:tacky jokes by proxy318 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Now, look. Now's not the time to be pointing fingers. We should hand off this type of research to those that grasp it, and give them all a big thumbs-up. After all, if they don't take matters in to their hands, who will? There's no need to arm yourself with insults, or to be so touchy.

      --
      Saying your "phone ran out of batteries" is like saying your "car ran out of gas tanks".
  8. don't build them... by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 2, Informative

    Grow them. (Just published on Wired's site.)

  9. Hehe... Human/Robot arm wrestling by technoextreme · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'd figure I would post this for two reasons. One it just sounds cool and it's related to the discussion. Unfortnately, it seems like we have a long way to go to completely replace a human muscle.
    http://ndeaa.jpl.nasa.gov/nasa-nde/lommas/eap/EAP- armwrestling.htm
    http://ndeaa.jpl.nasa.gov/nasa-nde/lommas/eap/amer ah/the-human-opponent.htm

    --
    Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.