Bionic Technological Advances
Definition of: bionic (from https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/)
A machine that is patterned after principles found in humans or nature; for example, robots. It also refers to artificial devices implanted into humans replacing or extending normal human functions.
Bionic medical technology has been in the news quite a bit recently. People with amputated hands can now enjoy fully functional bionic hands instead of the old claw-like replacements of yesterday. In from Vancouver's newspaper The Province, John German talks about his new bionic hand, with fully flexible joints and digits.
The i-LIMB costs $18,000 US and is the world's first commercially available bionic hand.Each finger is powered by an individual motor. The thumb also rotates, giving greater dexterity.
Two electrodes attached to the patient's skin pick up muscle signals that control the hand.
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German says he can now put a key into a door lock, peel a banana, use a can opener, or pick up a Blackberry from a table.
Tyler Schilling, who recently lost his left arm in a vehicle accident, is the recipient of a new prosthetic arm. Pretty unspectacular, right? However, unlike the prosthetic arms of yore, this prosthetic arm will allow Schilling to move the hand and arm with his mind. From via :
Smith clamps the clipped nerve and maneuvers it over the "motor point" of part of Schilling's remaining biceps muscle. Like a fiber-optic cable, the nerve is packed with bundles of fibers called axons that transmit information from the brain to the muscle and back. Over a period of months, the axons will branch into the muscle, reprogramming it to read the signal for squeezing the hand. He sews the nerve into place with sutures barely wider than a hair, his fingers rolling smoothly along the needle, then repeats it with three more nerves for extending the hand and bending the elbow.
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"I can still pretty much do everything I want to do," Schilling said. "It's just a little different now." He's tried swimming and peppers his doctors with questions about prosthetic attachments that will let him resume motorcycling and wakeboarding.
It's an exciting time for body replacement medicine. Bionic body parts are no longer a science fiction myth. I always roll my eyes when people call me a Bionic Woman, though technically it is true. I do have artificial body parts that have replaced worn out parts. I wonder if this new bionic technology will have an impact on joint replacement technology.
Finally, read about Jesse Sullivan, the world's First Bionic Man,
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