Bionic Science-The Future of Prosthetic Limbs

In recent years medical science has come a long way in the creation of prosthetic limbs.  Dramatic improvement for prosthetic limbs is here and gone are the days of lifeless looking arms and legs.  Cutting-edge technology has made it possible to replace these older models with compliant realistic looking silicone arms that have the robotic capability of giving disabled people the dexterity of picking up a raisin or scratching their nose.  The older models of prosthetic arms were usually based on levers that were controlled by the wearer's chin and were not capable of maintaining a good grasp. The incredible leaps and bounds that we have accomplished in prosthetics is of sheer genius.  These medical advances are giving people their lives back and especially giving hope to injured veterans.  These devices even have sensors with the intelligence and capability to sense pressure loads and actually tighten on the wearer's body and then relax when the weight is taken off.  These features are revolutionizing the way we look at prosthetic limbs.  These limbs are covered by a silicone rubber skin that can actually be 3-D painted to exactly mirror the opposite arm or leg.  This gives the wearer self assurance of realistic looking arms and legs.

Fingers and toes on robotic hands and feet can actually be flexed and unflexed using high-tech actuators.  Medical technology is even working on creating a bionic eye by the year 2020.  The field of bionic science is not medical fiction and has made the impossible possible.  State-of-the-art prosthesis are being fitted and the skills tested and honed. The simple task of grasping a raisin or catching a ball is now not out of reach.  Amputees can use this prosthesis to perform many daily tasks.  Range of motion has been restored for a couple of test cases of disabled people and amputee veterans.  Imagine being deprived of the use of your arms or legs? It's a terrible prospect for most people to think of and a horrifying sad reality for a lot of physically impaired people.  That is why these exciting advances in the bionic field of science are absolutely astounding and has changed the idea of the lacking of limbs means a limited life.

There are some test cases of these bionic prosthetics that are actually controlled by the patient's thought process by actually rewiring the nerves. Electric devices that can use the power of thought for movement. If these prosthetics that are controlled by thought pattern are proved  to be a success, this could revolutionize the world of prosthetics forever.  It will change an amputees life in ways they could have not imagined before.  Feeding themselves or just preparing a cup of coffee.  At the rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, doctors are salvaging leftover nerves that used to run down the arm and reroute them to chest muscles.  This technique allows the brain to send movement messages to the chest muscles.  Electric sensors in the chest then read these messages and relay them to the bionic arm.  When this happens, the wearer thinks "close hand", and these messages are sent from the brain to the chest and finally down the bionic arm to the hand.  In addition, bending the elbow and spinning the hand can also be accomplished just by thought alone.  Even though we have come a long way in the field of bionic science it is still not perfect.  Test trials are constantly being done to try and advance and better its scientific movements. Medical professionals rely on information and feedback from amputee subjects as it is critical to making better arm and leg prosthetic's.  Medical technicians can swap out the electrodes when they become unresponsive and maintenance is relatively simple as small repairs can be done to improve the working reliability of these units.  Although we have a lot more work to do narrow prosthetic devices, the future looks a lot brighter for the world of disabled amputees.