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.
Sources:
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