MIT Prof Predicts the End of Disabilities In Next 50 Years

judgecorp writes "MIT professor Hugh Herr describes how technology can end disability in 50 years — with a big incentive from the need to support injured war veterans. A champion climber, Herr lost both legs below the knee, returned to climbing and designed improved climbing prostheses. From the article: 'Herr believes the work he is doing won’t just have humanitarian benefits. There’s money to be made too. And if there’s a market here, it means more people will receive help. Despite all the horrors and injustices the Iraq and Afghanistan wars spawned, they have helped make the biomechatronics industry a lot more viable. Back in 2007, Herr gave Garth Stewart, a 24-year-old Army veteran who lost his left leg below the knee during the conflict in Iraq, a bionic ankle. It used tendon-like springs and an electric motor to provide support for Stewart.'"

Comments

And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[crazyjj]

I predict that 50 years from now, we'll realize that all long-term predictions made in 2012 turned out to be wrong.

As for the bionic limb prediction specifically, I've been hearing that my whole life. We always seem to be right on the edge of every amputee having bionic limbs. And yet decade after decade passes and, with the exception of a few prototypes here and there along the way, they all still seem to be wearing the same basic hooks and passive limbs that they've had forever (albeit much improved and lighter versions). Steve Austin, with his bionic limbs, is like a mirage that's always just up ahead--but never seems to actually get any closer.

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[Sir_Sri]

Apparently, despite all of the people who are injured in road accidents, left over land mines, general mishaps that befall the population etc, the key to moving technology forward is to have 30 or 40 000 soldiers injured.

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes and Motor Neurones, Spinabifida, MS and a whole load of other conditions aren't disabilities now.

The MIT guy is talking about one small part of a massive group of conditions.

Heres a cheaper and easier way to end disabilities from wars... Stop sending soldiers into war over other people's greed.

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[Qzukk]

they all still seem to be wearing the same basic hooks and passive limbs that they've had forever

That's what their insurance covers.

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[ILongForDarkness]

There is too many ways of getting disabled. Amputated limbs okay, but how much leg is left? If it is past the knee you might be okay but what if it is mid femur? What if it is neurological? Again how far up is the neurological problem? Are you a quadropeligic or is it just a local nerve in the leg? Do you have a degenerative neural disease so even your currently working nerves are weird? Too many variables I think an expanding portion of people will be candidates but I don't think we'll ever get everyone. I'm sorry sometimes the most reasonable thing to tell little Timmy is that he'll never walk again, and no really he'll never walk again. There isn't some miracle just around the corner etc. medicine tries too much to give hope to the hopeless it is becoming more of a religion every day. Same thing happens in cancer were I work.

Oh cancer will be cured in 20 years, yeah we've been hearing that since cancer was discovered. There is too many ways that your cells can go bad. Too many regions of the body, too many where cancers are really close to the normal tissues etc. We'll cure some, we'll prevent some, but there will always be cancer of one form or another and we need it: mutations are necessary for evolution.

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[Baloroth]

We always seem to be right on the edge of every amputee having bionic limbs.

Have we? I mean, true bionic limbs require tactile feedback, which in turn requires some kind of biological-machine interface. We are getting closer to it, but I wouldn't say we are anywhere near being on the edge of that (even now). Without that kind of feedback, even a sophisticated robotic limb is pretty well worthless, since you won't be able to use it for all that much. Granted, for someone without a hand, even that limited use is an improvement. The real problem isn't creating a robot hand or limb: the problem is controlling it. Simple motions are possible: complex ones, such as moving individual fingers on it, are not, and until we get that, losing a limb will always be a major disability.

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

If they wanted active limbs they'd pull themselves up by their remaining bootstrap.

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[jeffb (2.718)]

Perhaps the key is to have 30 or 40 000 amputees with a health-care plan that isn't dedicated to maximizing profits.

/ducks and runs

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[glop]

Actually, Wired has an article on this this month. And it turns out the classic hooks is still better in some respects and are preferred for some occasions where strength, speed and feedback are best.
I suppose when you are outside your home (i.e. where people can see you and gather anecdotal statistics as the ones we discuss), you might want the most reliable, fast and simple gear.
So some of the people we see with old style gear might have more advanced prostheses at home or at work for tasks that benefit from them.

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[jamstar7]

they all still seem to be wearing the same basic hooks and passive limbs that they've had forever

That's what their insurance covers.

And therein lies the problem. Anything more expensive than the basics, and the insurance companies weasel about paying for it. Medical insurance companies are still for-profit companies, and any payments come off the bottom line. Even with the unnecessary 'bailout' that the so-called 'Obamacare' legislation jammed down our throats, healthcare in the US hasn't been determined by qualified medical professionals (i.e., 'doctors') in decades, it's been determined by beancounters. For some serious giggles, google up the profits of the health care insurance companies and see for yourself.

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[Sir_Sri]

No, that wouldn't do it, because the civilized world have health plans not dedicated to maximizing profits and we don't have some magical solutions either.

It's all politics, the US especially but others generally are willing to invest a huge amount into R&D for soldiers who get injured, but many thousands more people who suffer similar problems every year seem to not get the same priorities.

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[AlienIntelligence]

Yes and Motor Neurones, Spinabifida, MS and a whole load of other conditions aren't disabilities now.

The MIT guy is talking about one small part of a massive group of conditions.

I was thinking the same thing... what an asinine thing to say.
And that's literally the way he said it too.

Guy loses both of his legs... and he thinks that is the only
type of 'disability' out there. He's obviously not the ego-free
individual we want leading the march.

Heres a cheaper and easier way to end disabilities from wars... Stop sending soldiers into war over other people's greed.

While I agree with you intrinsically... you do realize, it's not
that easy? Additionally, you do realize that a soldier is a
soldier for a reason. To fight in wars. They do not join without
the concept of death.

I was going to go in as an EOD Specialist, cause I have some
unresolved adrenaline issues and a poorly formed executive
center in the brain... =) but... the thought and reality of being
randomly shot, rather than blown up... poured cold water on
that. I made a choice.

Any soldier can, before becoming a GI. We are not under draft.

As far as I know... there is no other cause of war, besides greed.

So your statement then is, "Stop being greedy".

Good luck with that.

-AI

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[ace37]

Apparently, despite all of the people who are injured in road accidents, left over land mines, general mishaps that befall the population etc, the key to moving technology forward is to have 30 or 40 000 soldiers injured.

Compare that to workers comp and lawsuits from 30k-40k injuries at work in US private industry.

This has a much lower cost to the military and has a great external benefit to society. I don't think these soldiers are making out like bandits here, and I'm glad we'll have the technology for those few injured in road accidents and general mishaps.

Land mines aren't common on US soil, and it will take decades of improvement before these types of technologies can be extended to the many countries with those problems. And perhaps they need it the most; I don't know. But it must happen first somewhere, and this type of technology won't be developed by an impoverished nation that lacks advanced engineering skills.

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[AlienIntelligence]

you might want the most reliable, fast and simple gear.
So some of the people we see with old style gear might have more
advanced prostheses at home or at work for tasks that benefit from them.

I was a manager for a graphic arts publication, my lead graphic artist,
had an articulating hook in place of one forearm. Let me repeat... my
LEAD artist. He was faster than everyone else and had the least amount
of mistakes. Regardless of whether he pushed extra hard to be as good
as anyone... he was. And he was not handicapped or disabled in any way.

Here's to ya José! Thanks for all the copy.

-AI

Re:And flying cars and moon bases too, yeah, yeah

[girlintraining]

For some serious giggles, google up the profits of the health care insurance companies and see for yourself.

I work for a health care insurance company. There is no incentive to improve business process here; Millions are wasted due to systemic inefficiency. Medicare is an example of administration done right: They take something like $0.05 of every dollar to administer the program -- that is, all the approvals, rejections, communications, support infrastructure, and personnel to move the money from point A to point B and provide full auditing of it as well. There is no private-sector company that can begin to approach that level of efficiency. But insurance companies' overhead costs are being spread across their entire subscriber base, an every solution is about as inefficient as any other in the private sector. This doesn't become apparent until you try to buy medical goods and services at "retail" prices. That's the price of systemic inefficiency, and since insurance companies have no incentive to improve business process, billions are lost every year due to it.

Before you complain about how they're profit-maximizing, consider that the reason you're paying so much isn't just to pad profit margins: It's also because there's no reason to be efficient. Most people can't afford not to have health insurance. Even a perfectly healthy person doing routine preventative care would see the equivalent of a decent used car rolling out of their pocket and into the gaping maw of "Medical expenses". Yes, the companies are to blame, but make sure you're pinning it on the right behavior!

The end of disability?

[mcgrew]

I don't see any indication that spinal cord or brain injuries or birth defects will be gone in fifty years.

Re:The end of disability?

[vlm]

I don't see any indication that spinal cord or brain injuries or birth defects will be gone in fifty years.

Lack of medical care for all but the 1% means they'll be dead, not disabled.

There was a day when middle class people had houseservants, maids, etc. That sounds kinda laughable today. In the future thats how they'll look back on pensions, social security, medical care for all but the 1%...

Re:The end of disability?

[mcgrew]

I already have a defective part swapped out. I got a steroid-induced cataract in my left eye, and its lens was replaced with a CrystaLens, which sits on struts and can actually focus. After wearing thick glasses all my life I now need no corrective lenses at all, not even reading glasses -- and I'm 60.

You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile? You'll BEG to be assimilated.

Re:The end of disability?

[ILongForDarkness]

As long as 7 of 9 is doing the assimilating count me in.

Hmm...

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

I'm inclined to wonder whether the roboticists will manage to crack their problem before team "you grew the leg once, now grow it again" manages to get their pet stem cells from turning into hideous doom cancer all the time...

I'm also inclined to wonder what the outcome will be if we manage to crack the (highly complex; but comparatively simple) mechanical problem of replacing the function of limbs; but still have a load of people running around with neural problems, whether inborn or caused by concussive damage and the like. Robotics is hard; but it appears to be very nearly a toy problem compared to neurology.

Re:Hmm...

[MozeeToby]

I'm inclined to wonder what people will do given the choice between a truly advanced robotic prosthesis and regrowing a limb.

"Well Mr Johnson, we can fit you with a robotic hand with full tactile feedback via a 2 way neural link, wireless charging (though a mat that we put under your mattress), and have you back to 90% functional with a couple weeks training and therapy and greater than before your accident long term. Of course, as technology improves we can upgrade your arm accordingly. We even offer a "utility" mode with greater than human strength, durability, and dexterity, though for safety reasons this is disabled through limiters during normal use.

Or, we can give you a series of treatments to regrow you arm. It'll be a long, and probably painful process as the bones and muscles regrow. You'll need months, if not years of physical therapy to tone the muscles and strengthen the joints. But in the end, you'll have an arm that is actually "you" in every way, right down to the genetic level (minus a few tweaks we made to make the arm grow in faster).

The choice is yours."

Send drones

[captainpanic]

If you can make robotic legs, arms, eyes, hands, etc., why not put all that together and send the drones to do the fighting? Then you have no more veterans to fix up when they come back missing a limb.

Re:no

[Samantha Wright]

Autism researcher here. (Well, I'm not actually an autism researcher, but I do their computer stuff.) It's now generally believed that, whatever the genetic component of autism actually looks like (and it's now believed that there are many, many subtle mutations working in concert), a significant portion cases are triggered by environmental conditions. Like cancer, the incidence rate of autism is pretty much correlated with how horribly contaminated our world is. Here's an opinion piece by David Suzuki (PDF; scroll to page 8) on the matter. It's possible that the data set for people with autism will never be large enough for us to actually do statistically useful genetic screening.

Also: try not to be too hard on people with Asperger's. Certainly there are people out there who are just socially maladaptive and use it as a label to hide behind, but just from a short conversation with someone suffering from AS, you simply can't tell. There's a lot going on behind the scenes, however, in how they think, plan, feel, and perceive, and the apparently-normal facade is more of a testament to determination to fit in than anything.

Article about prosthetics in this months Wired:

[yodleboy]

Read on for a less rose tinted view of the state of prosthetic art and the challenges that are holding it back A True Bionic Limb Remains Far Out Of Reach. Interesting stuff.