In honor of the session we had as a class the week of March
23 on Biomedical Engineering, as well as in honor of my own personal major of
Biomedical Engineering, I want to use my last long post on this blog to bring
attention to my personal favorite topic in the field – prosthetics. Unlike many who love the topic, I thankfully
do not have a personal connection to the subject of prosthesis, but nonetheless
it is near and dear to my heart, and some of the ground being broken as we
speak is utterly breathtaking.
Prosthetic limbs have undergone many aesthetic changes
throughout history, but until recently the core concept has remained largely
unchanged since before the days of pirates, where peg-legs ran amuck on the
high seas. Within the last couple of
decades, however, the field has greatly expanded both its knowledge and its
flexibility when dealing with practical applications. The first of this ‘new wave’ of prosthetic
limbs came when the real-world forces acting on the body during motion were
more thoroughly analyzed and applied to lower limb devices, coming about in the
use of advanced springs and padding to simulate the action-reaction motion of
force that travels through the legs during activity. The result of this is that
the artificial limb pushes back up on the body with a force equivalent to an
actual foot and calve, resulting in more fluid and comfortable movement for
amputees.
However, the newest developments taking place in the field
though are even more incredible than those prior. Akin to something strait out of the Star Wars
saga, the idea that these limbs can react to natural electrical signals to
provide user-created motion is becoming closer and closer to reality. Two studies out of the Science Translational Medicine are parading a new generation of
advanced prostheses that react more naturally to the user’s body thanks to
direct-to-bone coupling and two-way implanted electrodes. The study performed in the United
States, at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, used electrodes
implanted into prosthetic arms to take in environmental stimuli and transmit
the information received up to the nearest natural nerve endings and deposit
it. The results were an ability of the
perception of different sensations in different circumstances that lasted for
well over a year in the patients acted on.
In another part of the country, Dr. Shawn Dirk, alongside colleagues at
Sandia National Laboratories, the University of New Mexico and the MD Anderson
Cancer Center, has a brilliant concept in the early stages of development. The hyper-complex nerves that the body houses
have been a huge barrier holding reactive prosthetics back, so Dr. Dirk’s
proposed solution is to create a synthetic substance that can act as a scaffold
for prosthetic limbs and support tissue growth, which would allow for severed
nerves to merge with robotic limbs. One
foreseeable application of this technology should the idea work would be to
take the next step and implant the electrodes that have been developed in the
aforementioned Case Western study in natural positions along the length of the
nerves travelling throughout the synthetic limbs. This would allow for a much greater area of
effective data collection as well as sensory output heading the other way from
the Central Nervous System.
The possibilities
for this line of approach with prosthesis feels limitless – there are already
some incredible ideas being put to the test and some even more incredible
results coming out of those tests. The
more the organic structure of the nervous system is understood, and the more
the signals involved in it are unlocked and understood, the more prominent the
bridge between natural and synthetic will be gapped, right at the source.
References:
http://www.medgadget.com/2014/10/breakthrough-prosthetic-arms-with-feeling-of-touch-advanced-integration-video.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/a-sensational-breakthrough-the-first-bionic-hand-that-can-feel-8498622.html
http://www.wired.com/2012/02/nerve-prosthetics/
Even though I'm in BME, I prefer the research aspect of it. However, without the design aspect to work with, very little would be accomplished. If the future does look to hold more technology from Star Wars, then I'd be very excited to work alongside the development of it if possible. Unlike you, I do have at least one personal connection who I know would love to see something like this.
ReplyDeleteI read your references and found it very interesting that they were also working with a system for the nerves to grow through, and even better, that it worked in testing with rats. Allowing nerves to grow after being damaged in limbs is one thing, but the applications with this throughout the rest of the body could be very great as well, so long those nerves respond the same way. Additionally, the fact that they already have a working model of a nerve-connected hand is incredible, and makes me excited to see how quickly they will reproduce these efforts for other artificial parts. However, I'm not sure if I'd want to know the cost of receiving one as soon as they are officially ready for use.
When I chose BME as a major, this is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to do. I have always been fascinated by the "Star Wars" like aspects of prosthetics. I love the idea of a user being able to control their own prosthetic. Like Kyle said, I'm sure the cost would be crazy for the first several years once they are created, but I think this kind of technology opens doors for people who are labeled as disabled in that way. Eventually, there will hardly be a difference in movement and strength.
ReplyDeleteI know relatively nothing about prosthetics. My knowledge on the advancing state of prosthetics is embarrassingly nonexistent and the only basis I actually have for the subject is from a presentation that a woman gave to my fifth grade class during Everybody Counts Week, a program to create disability awareness. The only thing I really remember is her various prosthetic legs she brought in that she has had over the years since birth. Sadly, you can say I am pretty ignorant on the topic, therefore, when I read the proposal by Dr. Dirk to create a synthetic substance that supports tissue growth allowing for the merging of the robotic limbs with severed nerves, I was shocked and greatly impressed. I remember the woman mentioning that her current prosthetic leg at the time was advanced because she could manually adjust the ankle piece to allow herself to wear high heals. Thus the advancements, as you can see, have been monumental. This is crazy awesome and I am interested in the mechanisms for which the synthetic substance allow for the working continuation of the nerves. I will have to read up on this interesting topic, so thank you Grant for opening my eyes to the amazing world of prosthetics. I can't wait to learn more!
ReplyDeleteThis is simply amazing. Honestly, I'm still impressed with the prosthetics that athletes use that allow them to run, let alone prosthetics that will respond as a tissue would! Nerve damage is something that is now considered to be irreversible, and the fact that it can be replicated in prosthetics gives me hope that one day, nerve damage can be repaired in anyone who has suffered nerve damage. Nevertheless, it makes me very happy that people who have been through something as traumatic as the loss of a limb will soon have almost full functioning returned, thanks to science.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine did a presentation on this topic, however, she took a different approach. Her main idea in researching this was that she wanted to explore what the impact would be on society. Her main question was if more advanced prosthetics would cause people to seem less human, more robotic. I wonder what everyone else thinks about this?
ReplyDeleteWhile I am a big fan of prosthetics, I think the future will involve more of limb regeneration compared to limb replacement. This may be crazy, and I'm not well versed in the area that this is going, but being able to "grow back" seems like a better treatment option. While this isn't possible for those born without certain limbs, it could work for those who have lost limbs due to a variety of reasons. It may be a long ways off, however the technology used today in artificial limbs is astounding and I have no doubt that prosthetics will continue to evolve and change people's lives for the better.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fascinating topic. One thing I am wondering about is whether or not people born without certain limbs could use these prosthetics. They can obviously use today's prosthetics, but I wonder whether or not they would have the nerves to connect to a fake arm like you described, if they never had an arm to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your blog post, Grant, and can relate to it since I am a Biomedical Engineering student like yourself. I chose to study Biomedical Engineering in college since I believed the field would always be growing, and this article confirms that belief exactly. Although the development and quality prosthetic limbs seems to be at its highest level, Biomedical Engineers are looking to strive further through research and development like the examples you provided. I am excited to see what the next 10-20 years holds for the field of prosthetics, especially since I plan on being in the middle of all of this development and innovation.
ReplyDeleteProsthetics was originally my desired area of focus when I switched into BME. I wanted to be able to give something back to people that had lost something they had grown so accustomed to having. It's also something that I hold close to me, as my grandmother is currently living as an amputee destined to a wheelchair due to diabetes-related problems. with her legs. I recently read an interesting article about an inventor of prosthetics, and it was amazing to see the commitment that people in this field have. Often times their ideas are shot down over, and over, and over. Normally this would discourage someone, however it was this failure that drives these people to do better and improve. It really resonated with me that it's okay to fail over and over again at the bench, as long as what you are actually providing someone in the end will help them live better.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do not have a particular interest in prosthetics, it is always heartwarming to read about what my peers are passionate about. I really like your narrative voice-- the part about pirates and peg-legs particularly had me smiling. Your article seems like the stuff of sci-fi movies what with prosthetics acting as tissue! It seems far-fetched, but with all the data you have backing it up, I am really excited to see what the future of prosthetics holds!
ReplyDeleteI have been interested in prosthetics for a very long time. I also am fascinated by the Star Wars like aspects of prosthetics as Amy is. It is very exciting for me to see this field advancing rapidly every day. It has developed from legs, or arms to possibly tissues. The technology is obviously going to cost a lot of money. I hope that scientists can find a way to reduce the cost of this technology so that it can help more people who are in need of it.
ReplyDelete