Back in the day, prosthetic limbs served a simple purpose, typically made with plastics and even wood–a far cry from getting the limb back to the way it was. That was the day back then. Since then, the practice of prosthetics has evolved to not only simply replace lost limbs in individuals but to enhance the quality of life and mobility of individuals.
Enter: Robotic Prosthesis.
In the ealy days, mobility was limited to simple tasks of holding a glass, or simply walking on two legs. New advancements in technology may include running, or jogging, or being able to drive with the use of a prosthetic arm. It may even one day replace the wheelchair!
The Boston Digital Arm is such an advancement, taking advantage of some of the processors used in myoelectrics to help the body in controlling the prosthetic arm as if it were a real limb. In essence, true bionics. A patient can move the prosthetic Boston Digital Arm in five different axes while allowing the user to even program certain movements. Two other types of robotic prosthetic is the i-LIMB and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Proto 1.
Even robotic legs exist, such as the Argo Medical Technologies ReWalk, marketed cleverly as “robotic pants.” Hailed to be the one technology to replace the wheelchair, you can obviously see that prosthetics is making leaps and bounds in the medical field.
In a decade where we thought it would never come to the point that science fiction would meet science, many innovations in science such as prosthesis occur. Bionics are now possible thanks to the advanced technology available to scientists and doctors. We may someday see soon the advent of the artificial heart or liver, replacing the need for donors, and possibly even working much more efficiently than flesh counterparts, particular due to the nature of health these days. We can say one thing for sure: the more science is merged with medicine, the better quality of life for all.