Prosthetic Arm
From: NASA Tech Briefs Insider - 05/10/2007

A research team led by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory has developed a prototype of the first fully integrated prosthetic
arm that can be controlled naturally, provides sensory feedback, and allows
for eight degrees of freedom. Proto 1 is a complete limb system that also
includes a virtual environment used for patient training, clinical
configuration, and to record limb movements and control signals during
clinical investigations. 

The natural control and integrated sensory feedback demonstrated with Proto 1
are enabled by Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR), a technique that involves
the transfer of residual nerves from an amputated limb to unused muscle
regions in appropriate proximity to the injury. During clinical evaluation, a
patient demonstrated substantial improvements in functional testing, such as
the ability to reposition the thumb for different grips, remove a credit card
from a pocket, and stack cups while controlling grip force using sensory
feedback versus vision. 

Read the entire article at:
Revolutionizing Prosthetics 2009 Team Delivers First DARPA Limb Prototype
http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/2007/070426.asp

Links:
The use of targeted muscle reinnervation for improved myoelectric prosthesis
control in a bilateral shoulder disarticulation amputee.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15658637&dopt=Abstract

DARPA Limb Update
http://robots.net/article/2216.html

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

First DARPA prosthetic limb comes with virtual reality training
http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/first-darpa-prosthetic-limb-comes-virtual-reality-training-13102.html

New Technique Allows 'Feeling' in Artificial Arm
http://ww3.komotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6026896