In the old days, of really not that long ago, anybody who needed a prosthetic arm had to make do with the limited possibilities available. The incredible complexity of the human hand seemed, so recently, to be the sort of thing that only science fiction, not science, could replace. It was one thing for Luke Skywalker to replace his arm but on twentieth century earth things were more like life for Buster Bluth.
But new bionic arms have changed this remarkably and remarkably quickly. Bertolt Meyer, who is sort of an unofficial spokesman for prosthetic arms and uses one of the latest models, explains that “until five or six years ago nothing much was happening and then suddenly we get this explosion of innovation.” The surge in improvement has brought about the presence of what you could pretty much label as genuine bionic limbs.
The newest, top of the range example – the i-limb ultra, from Touch Bionics – goes further than any previous prosthetic limb had gone before. Check out how advanced it is:
Whereas previous prostheses could only open and close as one movement for the whole hand, with the i-limb each finger bends at the natural joints. It means it’s possible to dress yourself, clap hands and even do something a bit more fiddly like tie shoelaces.
The newest version even comes with an app that connects to the hand via Bluetooth and allows you to make all sorts of adjustments (and also brings up the intriguing but unnerving idea that somebody could have their arm ‘hacked’!).
These aren’t fake hands; they’re fully articulated hands. In fact, already, these bionic prostheses can do some things that biological hands cannot. For instance, you can change the positioning of the index finger to make typing easier or turn the wrist 360 degrees – a party piece that even had Jeremy Paxman chuckling!
A huge reason behind the flurry of development has been the recent government investment as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US Military in particular has been really involved, spending over $100 million on bionic limb research. It has been suggested that it is perhaps one of the few good things to come from those conflicts.
New models, currently being designed will be even more advanced. Whereas using current prostheses take months to learn, in the near future it could take just a few minutes. The research team behind the next generation of arms say “we don’t make you learn how to use the hand; the hand learns what you’re trying to do”.
The ability of modern technology to replace nerves with cables and tendons with springs has lead to some extraordinary improvements for the lives of amputees. It’s fascinating to see – almost like watching science fiction in action.
This astonishing rate of development in the realm of biomechatronics will leave us with some serious ethical questions. Hugh Herr, head of the biomechatronics research group at MIT, believes that bionic limbs will “perhaps one day go beyond biological function…this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of functionality”. It’s a strange thought but you have to wonder – if this happens, will people with perfectly function arms want to upgrade them?
Next week, we’re going to explore the ethical implications of possible technological advancements.