Injured Vets Benefit from Bionic Limb Technology
From: Rehab Management

Working with researchers at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and
institutions around the world, Todd Kuiken, MD, PhD, director of the Center
for Bionic Medicine and director of Amputee Services developed the targeted
muscle reinnervation (TMR) procedure for upper-limb amputees in 2002. TMR is
an innovative surgical procedure that reroutes brain signals from nerves
severed during amputation to intact muscles, allowing patients to control
their prosthetic devices by merely thinking about the action they want to
perform. Using this technology, Kuiken and his team developed the world's
first neural-controlled bionic arm that has benefitted more than 50 amputee
patients worldwide to date, with many being military veterans who have lost
limbs in combat. Kuiken and his research team also have evolved the TMR
surgery to continually improve patients' mobility through better bioelectric
signal decoding and enhancements to control systems for prosthetic arms.
Additionally, they have been able to restore skin sensation of the missing
arm for many patients who undergo the surgery. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.rehabpub.com/RMN/2011-02-28_10.asp

Links:
The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
http://www.ric.org/

Targeted Reinnervation in the Transhumeral Amputee - Surgical Training Video
http://www.ric.org/research/centers/cbm/Video.aspx

Todd Kuiken
http://www.bme.northwestern.edu/faculty_staff/affiliates/kuiken.html

Center for Bionic Medicine
http://www.ric.org/research/centers/cbm/index.aspx