Sunday, October 12, 2014

Bionic Legs and Pink Hands

Prosthetics are not new.  Even hundreds of years ago, people made fake legs out of wood in order to help with balance, as well as to appear more “normal.”  The field of prosthetic research has vastly developed over the years, primarily with the advancement of robotics and technology in general.  Two cases have popped up in the past week that really demonstrate this progression, on two very different ends of the spectrum.

First, a five year old English girl, Hayley, received a prosthetic hand in order to give her disfigured, fingerless hand more dexterity.  On the surface, this may not seem very special.  However, the National Health Service refused to help the girl’s parents get her an artificial hand, so E-nable, a charity here in the United States, decided to help out.  Inspired by the Iron Man suit worn by the comic book superhero, E-nable creates prosthetics in a very unique way:  3D printing.

This printing technology has become very popular in the past few years and its applications are only becoming more and more innovative.  The hand can be printed in various colors (Haley received a pink and purple one) and slips easily over the child’s limb.  In Haley’s case, her fingerless hand fits inside the artificial hand and her wrist is used to manipulate the fingers of the prosthetic.  Haley’s parents hope that this will make her less self-conscious, and more proud, of her individuality.

Haley’s hand, though incredibly useful for her, is very simple in design, and not very complicated.  AlterG, a California-based research crew dedicated to improving physical therapy.  They recently released a “wearable mobility trainer,” a battery powered device that attaches to the leg in order to assist with people learning to walk again, particularly stroke patients.

The bionic leg actually can hold the weight of the patient, allowing him or her to move as normal (sit, stand up, or even walk) in order to train the patient’s body to get used to those kinds of movements again without straining their weak muscles.  It allows patients to regain coordination and muscle strength without nearly as much challenging recovery exercises, and is much more effective.  Katie Watson, a British horse jockey recently used the device after being nearly paralyzed in a car crash.  She has already begun walking unaided and even started riding a horse again.

So, what do these two devices mean for the world of technology and the world of prosthetics?  The use of 3D printing is becoming much more commonplace.  A vast amount of materials can be used (besides plastic), like ceramic and metal.  Who’s to say that these bionic legs can not one day be 3D printed as well?  Though far in the future, I feel that devices like this bionic leg will become much more ingrained in human society, for better or worse.


On one hand, these devices can expedite recovery time and serve as incredibly assets to people in accidents, especially our service men and women who come home injured, whether paralyzed, disfigured, or dismembered.  On another hand, there is a fear that this kind of technology can bring about the work of science fiction writers:  superhuman armies, people who are more bionic than flesh, technological warfare, etc.  While this is not something I fear, it is definitely something that I do not believe I am paranoid in thinking about.  With all of the technology that has come about in the last 10 years, I have no doubt that in another 10 years, these kinds of devices will get even better.  So, ten years after that, who knows?  Maybe there will be entire bionic suits.

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