The Future of Bionic Man (part 1)
Biotechnology applied to overcome disabilities
From pacemakers to hearing aids through artificial limbs. Technology has made so real feats of eliminating physical disabilities and disadvantages of people. “We are approaching the bionic man with whom he has always dreamed of science fiction?
For years, the biotechnology research works on the development of prosthetic devices that are capable of responding to the daily needs of people who wear them. Gone are the days of wooden legs and arms inert wax. Many businesses struggle to develop the next-generation prosthesis.
Associated since time immemorial to the war wounded, prostheses have never been able to replace the amputee limb function. It is very hard for people to “valid” get an idea of the difficulties to lead a “normal” life with one less member. You try to brush your teeth or dress with one hand. These seemingly trivial gestures are included in the daily struggle of people who lack a member.In 2001 there was a breakthrough in this field, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago began to experiment with slightly different prostheses, made of flexible materials, resistant and very practical. With the installation of a hydraulic system at the joints, these people started to perform complex movements with your arms. However, the real revolution of bionics is to perform many movements … governed by the brain.
In a press conference in Washington in 2006, Claudia Mitchell, whose left arm had been completely amputee following a motorcycle accident, was able to show that with his new prosthesis could grab a cup of coffee and take it to the mouth, also could browse through a book … All these familiar gestures are controlled in the same way it did before the accident, just think what you want done. Want to know how it works?
The electric motors of the prosthesis are driven by electrical signals sent by the brain to the muscles in the limb amputee. To enable the patient to perform several movements at once, at high speed, the guys from Chicago proved to be very resourceful. The damaged nerve endings innervating the arm tend to be directed to the chest. In this area, the researchers placed a series of electrodes that record neural impulses response throwing the motor cortex (center of the movement of our brain) to these nerve endings missing arm.
But how does the artificial limb to distinguish the type of information that is sent and the brain “? How will you know that it is necessary to the wrist, get this muscle, etc..? The manager is a processor capable of analyzing hundreds of electrical signals and send up to twenty possible moves to the prosthesis.
credit to: Suzanne Ortega