Bluetooth Prosthetics Help US Marine To Walk Again

Like2Byte writes "CNN is reporting that a US Marine who lost both his legs in Iraq is now able to walk again by using bluetooth technology to coordinate his leg movement. The two legs communicate to keep the man in motion. ' [...] Computer chips in each leg send signals to motors in the artificial joints so the knees and ankles move in a coordinated fashion. Bleill's set of prosthetics [legs] have Bluetooth receivers strapped to the ankle area. The Bluetooth device on each leg tells the other leg what it's doing, how it's moving, whether walking, standing or climbing steps, for example.'"

Comments

What if I sync my Treo while sitting next to him?

[kwabbles]

Will he reflex-kick me in the head?

Re:What if I sync my Treo while sitting next to hi

[antifoidulus]

I don't have bluetooth limbs and yet get the impulse to kick people who use bluetooth headsets in the head....

Re:olympics

[Joe the Lesser]

Another fine gentalman that they will not allow to partisipate in the olympics. Yea, I couldn't participate either, and I have *real* legs. What the hell.

Re:What if I sync my Treo while sitting next to hi

[gEvil (beta)]

...people who use bluetooth headsets in the head....

Yeah, I get creeped out when I hear people talking to themselves in the john, too.

Re:Bluetooth?!

[KublaiKhan]

I do know that there's a proposed standard for Bluetooth specifically for medical devices--there are some pacemakers and ICDs out there (most of 'em these days, I understand) that have bluetooth built into 'em so that the doctors can read information off of 'em without having to place electrodes and whatnot--and also so that they can patch the firmware, if necessary.

This is why they're using bluetooth, I think, rather than something else--because it's already used for similar medical device communications.

Re:What if I sync my Treo while sitting next to hi

[Stanistani]

We need this technology where I work - the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.