I honestly can’t imagine what it
would be like to lose the use of one of my hands. They are so fundamentally
important to most of my everyday tasks that the thought of having to operate
without one of them is traumatic in and of itself. Apparently I’m not the only
one who thinks this way as a group of scientists in Italy are currently trying
to come up with a new and better prosthesis. While current prosthetics are
impressive they lack one of the most important aspects of a biological hand –
feedback. At the current level of technology the best a prosthesis can do is
respond to certain impulses that originate in the upper shoulder allowing for
automated movement, and in more advanced models they can even produce
variations in the amount of pressure exerted by the mechanical arm. However
they cannot relay any of the information from the hand back to the user. Up
until now scientists have had difficulty sending information on through the
nervous system and back up to the brain. If a recent success is any indication
though this last hurdle might have been overcome.
A team in Italy thinks they might
have come up with a solution to the feedback problem by surgically grafting
tiny probes onto nerve receptors in the patient’s upper arm, and then
electronically stimulating the probes. The mechanical arm can then pass on
information through sensors embedded within it and let the user know details
about the object that they are touching. BBC recently wrote an
article about the paper
that the team of scientists published. In the article BBC describes how the
patient was able to not only receive feedback from the hand but that it was
intuitive and he was quickly able to identify the stiffness objects that he was
holding as well as vary the amount of pressure that was exerted. This level of
feedback would allow the wearer to interpret the world around him without the
constant need to supervise his prosthetic arm. Narrowing the gap between a
biological hand and prostheses. While this new technology is still very much
within the clinical trial phase that didn’t stop the patient from pronouncing
he was ready to sign up for the first commercially available unit. It should be
noted that the bionic hand itself is not the focus of this excitement; touch
sensors and pressure variation have existed for some time. Instead these new changes
have been brought about through software that can interpret the information
from the sensors and pass that on to the custom made implantable electrodes.
It is amazing to think about how
this might revolutionize the prosthetic industry and potential recovery of
those affected. It is still a long way off from this sort of technology being
available for commercial use but nonetheless it’s exciting to think about the
progress that we’ve made. The bionic hand of science fiction lore is now more
of a reality than ever before.
Posted by Kirk MacKinnon (2)
The video you attached was very cool to watch. Prosthetic body parts have always been a source of fascination, but this step towards further development of these parts is truly inspirational. I cannot even begin to fathom, much like yourself, what it would feel like to have to use one of these devices. Whenever I think of bionic hands, I never think that they would or could ever feel real. The fact that we are making strides to change this is astounding. What do you think is the biggest challenge standing in the way before these products become commercially available? Testing must be going on in full force if they were ready to release this article at the very least? I enjoy watching the progress of this and will be sure to continue to follow up with this BBC story.
ReplyDeleteTaylor Schille
This test was more of a proof of concept than anything else. So as of right now they have only tested the arm on one person for approximately one month and have since removed it. They feel their next challenge will be to miniaturize the prototype (it currently consists of an arm, separate from a computer, and external wires) and to refine the procedure. One scientist said that he didn't think it would be commercially availble for another decade or so.
DeletePosted by Kirk MacKinnon
This was a great read and I agree with Taylor, the video was a great addition. It's amazing how far technology has come and how fast it's moving. I wonder if scientists will begin or have already been developing this type of technology to other body parts such as the legs and feet. I am also very curious if there is any risk in administering one of these arms to the patient as well as how much it costs to produce one.
ReplyDelete-Samuel Ustayev
I actually don't know about about any other appendages. I did read that this same type of technology is being developed independently by other researchers though, at least one other group is in Cleveland, except that they haven't published their paper yet. As well there is a lot of effort being put into better control of the hand with some companies claiming that their hands are dextrous enough to remove the stem from a cherry.
DeleteAs for the risks - as of right now they have removed the prototype from the patient (in order to comply with medical regulations). He underwent a second surgery to have the electrodes removed (much to his disappointment) which effectively ends his participation in the trial. I would be interested to learn how the electrodes might affect the nervous tissue itself though.
Posted by Kirk MacKinnon
I am curious as to some of the details of how this hand actually works. Does it require a learning phase? Can you just take it off, or is it a permanent installment? How is it powered?
ReplyDelete-JE
From what I understand it does require a bit of a learning phase. According to the article the electrodes were surgically implanted and then thoroughly tested to ensure they were functioning correctly, and then he was hooked up to the prothesis. From there he describes the experience as "intuitive" which to me would mean that it makes sense but that he had to learn how to use it first.
DeleteAs for the permanence - in this case the patient underwent two surgeries, one to install electrodes and then a second to remove them. So it isn't a permanent installment but it isn't easy to remove either. The prosthesis itself is removable.
In this case the software is being run on a separate computer, so it is powered by a wall outlet. Future versions will miniaturize the computer and I would imagine it would be powered by a battery pack in the prosthesis.
Posted by Kirk MacKinnon
I find advancements in science such as this so fascinating! Recently, actually in September of 2013 the New England Journal of Medicine published an issue that revealed clinical applications for the world’s first thought-controlled bionic leg, which is a huge break through because up until now there have only been thought-controlled bionic arms available. Its so amazing how far research has come, that they are able to develop a system that uses neural signals to improve limb control of bionic legs. There are videos posted online of someone using this bionic leg to seamlessly climb stairs,ramps, and even reposition their leg while seated!
ReplyDeletePosted by: Kristen Whitehead
I find anything that is thought-controlled or any form of nerve connection to be kind of amazing. It is so far removed from what we deal with on a day-to-day basis that it just feels and sounds futuristic. It seems that every new article is touting advances in the field of thought-controlled robots/computers/prosthetics/video games etc etc etc. It might not be very long until this sort of technology is something we interact with routinely!
DeletePosted by Kirk MacKinnon
This is crazy stuff, bio-engineering is easily one of my favorite fields. It is amazing to think of what kind of precision work these hands will be able to produce when they are commercially available. I wonder if they will need to leave the metallic style or will be able to cover it with something that looks more like skin.
ReplyDeletePosted by Kevin Barisano
This was a very inspiring post for me, as I have a close family friend who is struggling to overcome the difficulties of living with a prosthesis. I have read about similar technologies that take advantage of nanotechnology. Some developers are using microscopic capacitors that can store a charge by converting vibrational energy into electricity! combining technologies like this with bioengineering seems like the next logical step in prosthetics. I really hope to see more attention put into medical devices instead of all our attention being focused on the next smart phone, or the best 3D TV.
ReplyDeletePosted by Tim Daly