By Nicholas Hall
What does the future hold for amputees
and the continuous development of prosthetics? This article discusses how
technology is enabling the development of prosthetics for amputees that
resemble the movement and texture of natural human limbs. Recently, Michael
Goldfarb and his team at Vanderbilt University have been doing continuous
research into the future of prosthetics. They were responsible for the
development of the initial robotic prosthesis that resembled both ankle and
knee joints of the human leg. These legs are created to have the joints
connected electronically, resemble specific movements that would be made in
human joints, and also reduce the amount of falling that would result in artificial
legs. Nonetheless, Goldfarb and his team, like many, are determined to continue
seeking breakthroughs in this area of technology.
For some with traditional prosthetic
legs, movement could be irritating at times. Some would nearly have to swing an
entire side of their body to get their leg to do what they wanted. However,
with recent innovation there have been developments with these new prosthetic
legs that include pressure sensing and automatic movement. There can even be a
controller installed that can serve as a nervous system and sensors placed on
the knee and ankle joints. As far as prosthetic arms are concerned, researchers
at Johns Hopkins University have come up with something that many would have
never thought could be invented for many years. They are responsible for a
prosthetic arm that is powered by the nervous system much like a regular arm.
There are tons of sensors, joints, motors, and a small computer built into the
prosthetic hand to help this masterpiece resemble that of a natural human hand.
The movement and action is programmed to be like that of the human hand. There
are even plans to cover this prosthetic limb in a substance that resembles
human skin. The ceiling of innovation for amputees is certainly being broken. It
was almost like yesterday when we saw the futuristic prosthetic arm that was
covered in skin by Will Smith in his film I,
Robot.
The future of prosthetics and the
development of better technology for amputees are definitely headed in the
right direction. The progression that is being made in hopes of replacing
traditional artificial legs with robotic prosthetics would highly benefit those
amputees who struggle with the frustration of daily movement and flexibility.
The development of a bionic arm and hand would recreate the feeling and freedom
of possessing a “normal limb” once again. These innovations are the result of
technology breakthroughs and deep research into human movement and the nervous
system. Great hope is on the way for those who have to use prosthetics and
their dreams of once again having movement that resembles the limbs they once
had are soon to be realized. For a deeper insight and more information check
out the videos and links I have provided below.
Videos:
Articles:
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