http://www.fastcompany.com/1725799/darpas-mind-controlled-prosthetic-arm-could-be-market-four-years
Scientists from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are developing a new kind of prosthetic arm that can be completely controlled by a microchip placed in the brain. The microchip works in coordination with the prosthetic arm by recording neuron activity that occurs in the brain, interprets the information of the sensory neurons being sent to the CNS, and sends signals to the appropriate motor neurons to complete the action. They decided to go about prosthetic research in order to help patients with amputations, as well as patients who have suffered strokes and spinal cord injuries. They are working in conjunction with John Hopkins and as of last year, planted the microchip into five patients and have been monitoring them for a year to determine any side effects or adjustments that need to be corrected. Based on the included video in the article, the mind-controlled prosthetic arm would allow almost full functionality of a normal arm and allow free-range movement to give patients the ability to preform basic tasks. DARPA and John Hopkins have stated that if all goes well with their experiment, this new prosthetic arm could be on the market in as soon as four to five years.
I believe that this research is very beneficial to those who have suffered the loss of their ability to use their arms, whether it be due to amputations or injuries. If this research succeeds, this will be a big step towards help patients recovery and regain their ability to accomplish basic tasks. I do have some concerns regarding this research though. If this does appear on the market in the next four to five years, will it be at a price range that moderate income families could afford? How extensive is the surgery to place to the microchip in the brain? Could there be any negative consequences as a result of the microchip? What are you thoughts on these questions and what are you opinions on this new prosthetic arm in general?
Anh-Tuan Tran
The advancements in prosthetics is out of control. It wont be long before the artificial componants surpass the abilities of the biological. There may be a time when you will be considered disabled if you dont have certain prosthetics.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with that actually. The creation and use of prosthetics are made with the intention of assisting people who are disabled. The idea that people without prosthetics would be considered "disabled" is a very unbelievable assumption. No one would want to willingly give up an arm or a leg in return for a prosthetic limb. Especially when there are people who would actually need them due to an injury or accident.
ReplyDeleteI find this research interesting due to the abilities of the chip. Could this potentially alleviate extreme effect is stroke victims such as loss of speech? It would be interesting to see if the chip could be used to imitate the damaged region of the brain and help to produce normal responses from injured patients.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see how this research affects those who suffer from phantom limb syndrome after and amputation. Many amputees actually dislike having a prosthetic claiming that it only makes the pain in their phantom limb worse. Many suffering with phantom limb syndrome can only get relief by an optical illusion using mirrors so that when they move their remaining limb it looks like the amputated limb is moving. However, with this microchip prosthetic that is controlled by your mind and works almost as well as a normal limb there may no longer be a need for optical illusions. I too am curious about the cost of such a microchip. It would be a waste of technology if it were only available to the upper 1% who could afford it.
ReplyDeleteAnh-Tuan - you cant imagine a future where a person with prosthetic legs could easily outrun an able bodied human? There could amputees that dominate sports because of how their legs never tire or get sore, they would have to have a whole separate league. It might even be more exciting to watch amputees play sports, in which case, they would be the multimillion dollar athletes. All of that is easily foreseeable, the technology is coming. With the money going to amputees, I can bet that there are going to be a lot more people with prosthetic enhancements, either because they see an advantage to it, or for other reasons. " It is easily conceivable that different prosthetics and enhancements may give other Paralympics athletes advantages to the extent that they begin to produce faster, further, stronger, more accurate performances than athletes in the non-enhanced Olympics." - http://nicolatriscott.org/2012/08/04/bionic-people-enhancement-bioethics-and-the-politics-of-disability/
ReplyDeleteThis hand has an awesome design. The fact that it has all of the degrees of freedom that a natural hand and arm do is incredible! I worked with a robotic hand last year that included 19 of the 27 degrees of freedom, and the motors and gears that were used were much larger, and hindering than those used in this design. Mechanical design aside though, this is a cool advancement in neuroscience and technology. In the video, the engineer controlling the hand is using a data glove (a glove and sleeve with sensors on it, communicating with the hand how to move). I would be interested to see how it works with the chip implanted in the brain. What types of signals would cause movement? When we move, we don't consciously have to tell our body what to do - it just seems to know from the signals in the brain. With this device, would people have to "tell" their arm and hand to perform certain tasks, or would it work in a similar fashion to how we work naturally?
ReplyDeleteAs far as the price of the device, I would imagine that when it is first available, it will not be affordable for the average family. Seeing as this prototype has been developed on a budget of over 100 million dollars, I think it would take some time for it to become more accessible for the average home. It is incredible though, that we have come this far in technology that we are able to even think about these types of advancements.