The field of prosthetics has a massive problem. Usually, prosthetics are used when people lose a limb or a body part. The problem is that quite a number of these prosthetics are merely aesthetic props, something to make the user feel better about themselves. Some more advanced prosthetics managed to combine aesthetic function with a little bit of functionality. This is achieved by linking the moving parts of the prosthetic to the undamaged muscles of the limb. Once again, a problem arises due to the anatomy of the body. Progressing from distal to proximal, the muscles of the limbs reduce both in number and in their ability to perform fine motor instructions. Executing fine tasks such as painting or playing the piano with the biceps as the main mover is the equivalent of shaving with a machete. Luckily, a solution to these problems has been invented.
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Bionic Hand Credit: Chalmers University of Technology.
Introducing The Bionic Hand
Scientists at the Center for Bionics and Pain Research (CBPR) in Sweden were involved in this invention. Integrating findings from the bleeding edge of surgery, bionics, and artificial intelligence, the scientists produced a bionic hand that actually does what the amputee wants it to do. The process involved the dissection and rewiring of nerves. First, the nerves supplying the damaged muscles are identified. Next, the nerves are rerouted and reattached to the intact proximal muscles on the same limbs. This way, when the central nervous system sends impulses that would have been carried out by the destroyed muscles, the intact proximal muscles contract instead. The next step is to attach a bio-interfacing sensor. Muscle contraction is an electrical process and can be detected by these sensors. For the penultimate step, an AI is trained on the impulses from the sensors. The AI after training is then able to interpret one impulse to mean “He wants to waggle his fingers” and another to mean “He wants to raise his pinky”. The final step is to link the AI to the prosthetic hand. At this point, the hand is no longer a mechanical device but a true extension of the user’s will.
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Clinical significance
This invention brings massive hope to amputees the world over. Many of these amputees have had to adjust to living life without the whole or parts of their limbs. Also, this invention could open the floodgates for topically different but foundationally similar inventions. Does a missing eye have to stay missing? We could be building up to a future where any missing or defective body parts could be replaced with little to no loss of function.
Conclusion
The field of prosthetics might have had a huge problem, but bionics has supplied the answer. More research is underway to make these bionic appendages more intuitive, more maneuverable, more durable, and more affordable. We look with delight towards the future, who knows what it may hold.
References
Zbinden, J., Sassu, P., Mastinu, E., Earley, E. J., Ortiz-Catalan, M., & [2 other authors]. (2023). Improved control of a prosthetic limb by surgically creating electro-neuromuscular constructs with implanted electrodes. Science Translational Medicine, 15(704). https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.abq3665
