Robot Science in Reach for Humans
Advances in robotic surgery may transform lives
From: Abilities Buzz - 12/2006

CNN.com recently reports on the power of the mind and robot science becomes
within reach for people living with a disability. The story reports on a
26-year-old amputee from Maryland who is living 21st Century proof of the
power of the mind. When former US Marine Claudia Mitchell lost her arm at the
shoulder in a motorcycle accident in 2004, she doubted whether she would ever
get her old life back. But with the aid of Rehabilitation Institute of
Chicago (RIC) under the direction of Dr. Todd Kuiken, Mitchell has been able
to transform her life and with it transform the possibilities for amputees in
the future. The RIC, in association with the Neural Engineering Center for
Artificial Limbs (NECAL), has pioneered a muscle reinnervation procedure
which takes an amputee's own nerves and then connects them to healthy tissue.  

The operation was successfully trialed four years ago when Jesse Sullivan, a
double amputee had four nerves transferred from his shoulder to the muscles
in his chest. Once the nerves were embedded in his pectoral muscle, the
prosthetic arm - which has electrodes that detect muscle activity - was then
able to respond to his thoughts. If he thought "open hand", the electrodes
detected the nerve activity and the arm responded accordingly. Mitchell’s
arm, which weighs five kilograms and contains six small motors, is a further
step towards a more full range of movement.  

With six nerves transplanted to her chest, she is able to perform more
complex procedures. "It has changed my life dramatically", she said, "I use
it to help with cooking, for holding a laundry basket and all kinds of daily
tasks. My life is more rewarding and active. "In the future it is hoped that
electrodes in the hand will send signals up the arm to the skin on the chest,
which in turn will deliver a message to the brain. This will allow the
patient the perception of sensation. The fictional bionic man famously cost
$6 million. In real life, Claudia Mitchell's bionic arm cost just 1 per cent
of that figure totaling around $60,000.  

According to Gregory Clark, a professor in bioengineering at the University
of Utah, a natural arm is able to make 22 discrete movements. The hope is
that future prosthetic limbs will be able to perform much like a normal arm.
With scientists in the UK having recently developed technology that enables
artificial limbs to be attached directly to the skeleton using a titanium
rod, the prospects for more complex prosthetic limbs are wrestled from the
grasp of science fiction films and books and become an astonishing reality.
At the end of the 21st Century, neural engineers will look back at the work
of the scientists at RIC and NECAL and view them as pioneers. Their advances
are probably just the tip of the iceberg.  

Links:
Robot science in reach for humans
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/11/16/mwonders.bionicarm/index.html

For 1st Woman With Bionic Arm, a New Life Is Within Reach
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/13/AR2006091302271.html

First woman gets bionic arm
http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/first-woman-gets-bionic-arm/

DARPA sets goal for bionic arm by 2009
http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/29/darpa-sets-goal-for-bionic-arm-by-2009/

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Unveils World’s First "Bionic Woman"
http://www.ric.org/bionic/bionicwoman.php

Todd A. Kuiken
http://www.ric.org/search/kuiken.php

Gregory A. Clark
http://www.bioen.utah.edu/directory/profile.php?userID=23

Introducing Jesse Sullivan, the World's First "Bionic Man"
http://www.ric.org/bionic/

Neural Engineering Center for Artificial Limbs
http://www.smpp.northwestern.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=76