Prosthetics

Scientists have successfully wired a state-of-the-art artificial hand to existing nerve endings in the stump of a severed arm. Its creators say the device, called “SmartHand,” resembles a real hand in function, sensitivity and appearance. In order to develop such an intelligent artificial prosthetic hand with all the basic features displayed by a real one, the SmartHand team integrated recent advances in nanobioscience, cognitive neuroscience and information technologies. Read More

Existing robotic prostheses have limited motor control, provide no sensory feedback and can be uncomfortable to wear. In an effort to make a prosthesis that moves like a normal hand, researchers at the University of Michigan have bioengineered a scaffold that is placed over severed nerve endings like a sleeve and could improve the function of prosthetic hands and possibly restore the sense of touch for injured patients. Read More

Routine physical examinations of a more intimate nature may become a little less awkward and a little more precise according to a team of engineering students from the University of Florida. The team's design of a ‘mixed reality’ human patient could be the answer in managing this delicate aspect of bedside manner. The mixed reality human is named Amanda Jones and she exists, in both virtual and physical form, as a life-sized cyberspace image on a flat screen, and as a mannequin with a prosthetic breast. Her purpose is noble: to help train medical students to conduct intimate breast exam procedures. Read More

An artificial knee costing just USD$20 promises to deliver much needed help to amputees who are disadvantaged or impoverished – particularly when the price of high-end titanium knee joints can range anywhere from USD$10,000 to USD$100,000. The artificial knee, dubbed the JaipurKnee, was developed by Joel Sadler, a lecturer in mechanical engineering and d'Arbeloff Fellow, and his team at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University. Read More

Scientists at the University of Tokyo have created a material with the texture and flexibility of rubber, but possessing more than 570 times the electrical conductivity. Made by grinding carbon nanotubes with an ionic liquid and adding it to rubber, the material could be used to make intelligent steering wheels and mattresses, stretchable television displays, or sensitive e-skin for robots. Read More

A team led by the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at Johns Hopkins University has received a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to complete development of a prosthetic arm that will look, feel and perform like a natural limb. Read More

January 30, 2008 Touch Bionics has announced that its i-LIMB - the world’s first commercially available bionic hand - is expected to achieve the milestone of 100 patient fittings by the end of February this year, having already reached more than 70 people worldwide since its July 2007 launch. Read More

July 27, 2007 Prosthetics is a fascinating field – science’s ability to mimic the complicated natural function of lost limbs can make a truly life-altering difference for amputees. Nowhere is this difference more strongly felt than in the field of artificial legs that get amputees out of wheelchairs, off crutches and back to a level of mobility that lets them blend back in into ordinary life. The latest drive towards the development of advanced prosthetics includes this new microchip-controlled artificial knee joint that’s opening up an unprecedented level of freedom of movement for above-knee amputees and allowing amputee servicemen to remain active in their jobs if they so choose. The US$30K hydraulic C-LEG’s CPU “brain” automatically adapts to changes of speed and direction, and can be pre-programmed into up to 10 switchable “modes” to enable natural driving, cycling and other programmable activities that require different leg actions to normal walking and stair climbing. Read More