Tag Archives: Prosthetics

16th Century Prosthetics from Ambroise Paré

May 12th, 2013 | Robot

16th Century Prosthetics Ambroise Paré

16th Century Prosthetic Hand and Forearm Ambroise Paré

16th Century Prosthetic Arm Ambroise Paré

And here are a few other illustrations from Dix livres de la chirurgie:

Half-Bath Chair

Mouth Dilator

Cataract Removal Tools

Facial Suture Technique

barbers-poleThe images above are mechanical prosthetics as designed by Ambroise Paré in his book Dix livres de la chirurgie (Ten books of Surgery).  Paré was a French barber surgeon and is considered to be one of the fathers of surgery and modern forensic pathology.  Interesting fact: the barber pole is a vestige of an era when barbers were the primary surgeons and NOT physicians.
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 The design is a representation of bloody bandages wrapped around a pole.
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Paré was the official royal surgeon for kings Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III.  He designed a range of surgical instruments and was a leader in surgical techniques and battlefield medicine, especially the treatment of wounds.  He amputated countless limbs during his career as thousands of French cavalrymen were being killed and wounded by enemy arquebuses. The prosthetics above appear quite advanced for the 16th century.  The hand has complex finger movements which modern prosthetics often fail to include.
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 He also made original artificial eyes from enameled gold, silver, porcelain and glass.

Ambroise_Pare

-RSB

[via The Public Domain Review]

British Teenager Gets a Robotic Hand

April 26th, 2013 | Robot

Robotic Hand

Robotic Hand

Robotic Hand

Robotic Hand

A British teenager was recently outfitted with the world’s most advanced robotic hand, and he loves it. Patrick Kane was only 9-months-old when he was striken with a septic attack from Neisseria meningitidis.

Neisseria meningitidis

Neisseria meningitidis bacterium

Infection with the bacteria leads to rapid onset fever, headache, dizziness, nausea, anorexia, stiff neck, and in some cases, amputation is necessary to stop it. Patrick lost all the fingers from his left hand, part of each finger on his right hand, and his right leg below the knee as a result.

Fortunately, Patrick’s family was able to help pay for a £25,000-£80,000 ($40,000 – $125,000) i-limb ultra revolution robotic hand that has simply changed his life.  The new prosthetic can be controlled through an app with an iPhone to select from 24 unique programs.  Each program will select a unique functional grip specialized to perform different tasks like holding a cup of water or typing on the keyboard.

Here are the official specifications from Touch Bionics:

“i-limb ultra revolution features:

  • Powered rotating thumb and individually articulating fingers offering unparalleled dexterity and reliable access to precision grip patterns.
  • New biosim mobile control application compatible with latest Apple® products gives the wearer greatly expanded control capability via 24 Quick Grips each from a single screen tap.
  • New remote electrodes offer a higher level of sensitivity giving the wearer enhanced control.
  • A variety of flexible wrist options enabling more natural positioning of hand when gripping or picking up objects.
  • Aesthetic covering options available via the livingskin product line, including i-limb skin natural and i-limb skin match covers customized to match skin tone and appearance.
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biosim mobile control app features:

  • 24 Quick Grips – Instant access to grip patterns with a single screen tap greatly expands prosthesis control.
  • Favorites – Editable collections of grips customized for daily needs. For example, wearers can select the ‘work’ favorite, which triggers the i-limb into preferred grips such as typing, holding papers, or using a mouse.
  • Hand Health Check – Activates prosthesis diagnostic to ensure the i-limb is functioning properly.
  • Training – Access training modes to help the wearer learn how to access all of the functionality available.
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  • Compatibility – Available for download on Apple App Store and compatible with several Apple devices.”

It would be nice if the grips could somehow be accessed in a more intuitive way, something apart from the iPhone.  I can’t imagine it’s easy to open up the iPhone every time you want to switch to a new programmed grip.
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 Nonetheless, it’s always nice to see victims of terrible diseases thrive with new technology.

-RSB

[via Laughing Squid]

Robotic Arm Driven by Brain (Update)

January 2nd, 2013 | Brain, Robot

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I’ve posted about this before (here), but 60 Minutes did a nice special on the advancement of Robotic Limbs, so I thought I would post an update.  The 2 main advancements I’ve noticed are that scientists have begun to add touch sensation to some of the prosthetics.  This will give the user the feeling that the prosthetic is actually a part of them and not just some strapped-on tool.  And secondly, this new brain-powered robotic arm appears to have much greater finesse than previous models.

I wrote a bit about how it works in the past, so I pasted that here:

The technology basically works by implanting a sensor in the motor cortex of the brain (see below).  This sensor reads the brain’s electrical “thoughts” and then sends them to an external computer for decoding.  This decoded signal is then transferred to the robotic arm so that it can deliver the coffee (or whatever else the user desires).

Motor and Somatosensory Cortex

 

Needless to say, I’m pretty excited about the emerging field of Neuroengineering.  Infection will always be a major concern for any implanted device, and especially when it’s located in the brain, but I’m sure scientists will find a way to make this feasible for the longterm.  One day, you WILL see tetraplegics walking around in robotic suits.

Robotic Suit - Exoskeleton

 

Exciting things to come in 2013 and beyond!

-RSB