You know what will be cool about the future
besides jetpaks and equality?
Robotic arms.
And surprisingly they’re not too far away.
Hey guys, Julia here for Dnews
Artificial limbs have come a long way since
the days of Pirate Joe’s Peg Leg.
Today’s prosthetics are made of state of
the art materials and cutting edge technology.
They’re made of titanium, carbon fiber,
and/or silicone.
These materials are tough, lighter and can
even be designed to look life-like.
They stay on by a few different mechanisms
like suspension or suction.
Suspension involves some type of straps or
sleeves.
Suction works because the new limb might be
custom made to perfectly fit to the remaining
natural limb.
Some devices can be controlled by the body,
in a kind of pulley system, not surprisingly
called body powered.
Others can be controlled by switches or buttons.
While fit and materials get progressively
more advanced, so does the technology.
Most new robotic limbs are myoelectric-controlled,
meaning muscles in the remaining limb naturally
create electrical signals that are picked
up by electrodes in the prosthetic.
For the past few decades medical technology
allowed patients to control their device through
electrodes placed on the skin.
But that’s an imperfect design, moving or
sweating might dislodge the electrodes.
So scientists are looking to the future.
Recently a report published in the journal
Science Translational Medicine talked about
a robotic arm that uses what’s called a
Brånemark titanium implant which attaches
the prosthetic directly to the skeleton in
a process called osseointegration.
And just like it sounds, this process fuses
the bone to a titanium piece which sits outside
of the limb, which the robotic arm attaches
to.
To control the device, the technology goes
a step beyond the current myoelectric types.
It uses Targeted Muscle Reinnervation or TMR
to hook up the prosthetic to nerves INSIDE
the patient’s body.
The process takes nerves from the amputated
limb and puts them on a spare muscle like
the pectoral, the target muscle.
Once these nerves start to regrow they can
be activated by thought.
Electrodes surrounding the muscle and nerves
can then control the prosthetic.
Sounds pretty futuristic right?
Yet something seems to be missing.
The sensation of touch.
Current techniques use sensory substitution
to provide feedback, like a buzz or vibration
when the limb comes into contact with something.
In research presented in the journal Plastic
and Reconstructive Surgery researchers look
for a way to restore a patient’s ability
to feel.
The researchers say this would reduce the
“cognitive burden" of relying on vision
alone to navigate the environment.
A robotic hand with the ability to “feel”
would have to be able to take a sensation
like hot or cold or pressure like firm or
soft and translate that into electrical signals.
The different sensations could create a different
signal like it could vary in strength, frequency
or duration.
The researchers suggested using TMR to restore
some type of sensation for the patient.
Another idea is a sensory regenerative peripheral
nerve interface (sRPNI), which would directly
hook up a nerve with some sort of biological
interface on the prosthetic.
Or maybe light could brighten up the future.
Optogenics might enable different light waves
to control nerve signalling.
Anything to make the electrical signalling
devices smaller and more precise.
Robotic legs too are taking great leaps into
the future.
Research published in the journal Science
Translational Medicine explained recent advances
in powered joints.
Yeah that’s right.
Basically each joint in a robotic leg can
have a little motor in it.
This way it detects pressure and angle and
can send that information to the central nervous
system.
But more than that, the more advanced models
can have a neural interface that enhances
integration with the brain.
This way they can sense a person’s intention
like the desire to move from a flat surface
to climbing stairs.
Either way the future of artificial limbs
is gonna be awesome.
Speaking of insane augmentations, Toyota has
been doing some tinkering of their own with
the TRD line of Toyota Trucks.
Enhanced to rule the off-road!
Do you have an artificial limb or know anyone
who does?
Tell us your story down in the comments below…
