Technology Gives Back
From: Machine Design - 08/28/2014
By: Nancy K. Friedrich

Last month marked the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I.
Thanks to advances in surgery, that war saw more injured soldiers return home
than any previous conflict. To help these men regain their mobility and
potentially return to work in some capacity, research and development was
quickly devoted to prosthetics. According to Thomas Schlich, author of "The
'bionic men' of World War I", "Virtually every device produced today to
replace lost body function of soldiers returning from our modern wars - as
well as accident victims, or victims of criminal acts, such as the Boston
Marathon bombings - has its roots in the technological advances that emerged
from World War I."  

Given the advances in computing, manufacturing, materials, networking, and
more since World War I, such a statement is very surprising. Yet it makes
sense in that the goal of prosthetics has always been to replace a body part
with one that at least partially restores function and/or appearance. With
today's technical advances, of course, prosthetic development is moving
toward serving as a complete replacement or even an improved enhancement.

Source:
http://machinedesign.com/editorial-comment/technology-gives-back

Link:
The 'bionic men' of World War I
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/26/opinion/schlich-world-war-i-prosthetics/