http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=183371 - (this is the article, but you might also want to watch the video I posted below!)
This summer I was fortunate enough to be able to observe a plastic surgery research lab at Johns Hopkins University as well as attend several conferences on different topics within the medical field. In one of the conferences I attended, there was a doctor presenting targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR). Currently the research for TMR is being conducted on arm amputees. There is a team at Johns Hopkins that is working with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago on this project.
Put simply (for an extremely complex revolution) prior to amputating the arm of an arm prosthesis patient, nerves from the upper part of the extremity are taken and are grafted onto the chest of the patient. The goal is to have the nerves that were once from the arm transfer signal to the alternative muscle site on the chest. For this to work the patient must go through extensive therapy with the graft trying to reinnervate connections between the muscle, nerves, and brain. Therapy consists of using an electromyogram (EMG) to decode signals from the brain. Eventually with enough therapy the patient is able to move a prosthetic arm just by thinking about it. The link below is to a video that better describes and shows this process with the first patient to undergo TMR.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We9O1CJusAU
I think that TMR is an astounding break through in the medical field. To be able to control a "bionic" arm just by thinking about it is amazing to me, especially since nerve regeneration in a healthy individual is a difficult process for the body. What I also think is astonishing is that the patients still have the same sensations they would feel in a normal arm, you can see this in the video. Although this exact topic isn't much related to psychology as it is to biology, there is to much potential for breakthroughs in psychology with this newly founded brain and nerve control. What more will we be able to accomplish with nerve and brain connections in the future? What about when we know more about the brain, could we eventually be able to essentially "re-wire" people in behavior/thought/function? What if people have brain disorders, will this project be affected differently or even still work?
Kelly, I found your article on Targeted Muscle Reinnervation very intriguing and the video helped to further explain. It is amazing how technology keeps improving and advancing in the medical field. It was interesting how the individual would be able to experience the same sensations (i.e. rough or smooth) as having a regular arm.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I would think a person with a brain disorder would still be able to use the equipment the same way, unless it was a disorder interfering with their nerve movement. It would be interesting to test clients with different brain disorders such as one with Alzheimer’s versus one with Parkinson’s disease, and see how they reacted with the equipment. How would someone with trauma to their motor cortex react with the equipment? Also if a “bionic leg” was developed would it work the same way as the “bionic arm”? I feel further research needs to be conducted, in order to see how effective this new technology is for clients with amputees and what the potential side effects are.