Amputee Feels Sensations in Artificial Limb
A group of European scientists said Wednesday that they have successfully connected a robotic hand to an amputee, enabling him to feel sensations in the artificial limb and control it with his thoughts.
Holy mackerel.
During the month he had the electrodes connected, Petruzziello learned to wiggle the robotic fingers independently, make a fist, grab objects and make other movements.
“Some of the gestures cannot be disclosed because they were quite vulgar,” joked Dr. Paolo Maria Rossini, a neurologist who led the team at Rome’s Campus Bio-Medico, a university and hospital that specialize in health sciences.
Ain’t science great? It can give you a robotic hand to flip people off with.
P.S. You know what this means, don’t you? Someone could chop off Obama’s hand (I’m not suggesting this, Secret Service) and he could still scratch his ear with his middle finger whenever he referenced a political opponent or one of their supporters. How awesome is that?
Well, he does think we should restore science to its rightful place.
DRJ (dee47d) — 12/5/2009 @ 11:59 pmWhen you consider just a few decades ago they employed pulley systems and cables to manipulate these limbs, the hopes for using electronic impulses and make motion and feeling as natural as possible in the years ahead seem promising indeed.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 12/6/2009 @ 12:40 amBut I thought that Yurope couldn’t do anything, what with their being graying pinko socialist cowards and all.
a concerned conservative (11d38a) — 12/6/2009 @ 4:15 amInsert Star Wars reference here.
Dr T (324d86) — 12/6/2009 @ 4:56 amThere is hope for the thousands of veterans who every day – try to function, try to rehabilitate, try to provide for their families – while missing limbs in the defense of our country
President Obama means nothing to me – i would even waste breath mentioning his name
EricPWJohnson (9b7688) — 12/6/2009 @ 5:28 amI would not wate breath even mentioning his name
sorry….
Why the idiot keeps degrading himself by misbehaving and flipping the bird shows the superficialness of being in a job ill suited to the man
EricPWJohnson (9b7688) — 12/6/2009 @ 5:30 amThis is good news for Scott (Jacobs). He can add a third hand, or more, so he never has to let go of his game console to eat, drink or scratch himself. https://patterico.com/jury/2009/11/09/modern-warfare-2/
nk (df76d4) — 12/6/2009 @ 5:47 amScience!
Dr. K (adb7ba) — 12/6/2009 @ 6:00 amHas anybody read any of Keith Laumer’s Bolo stories?
nk (df76d4) — 12/6/2009 @ 6:06 am– Some of the gestures are quite vulgar –
Bionic hand….male…….
Flipping people off, or 40 tugs per second?
NavyspyII (df615d) — 12/6/2009 @ 6:16 am#3 was not even good at being a Moby.
This is really fascinating, and has to be incredibly exciting for any potential users.
JD (f26a1d) — 12/6/2009 @ 7:06 amI agree with JD. The biomechanical connection is a large leap forward. We have been investigating it in America for people with central nervous system damage (quadriplegics) with a connection directly into the brain with limited success (one patient could move a cursor on a computer). But it would have been wonderful if Christopher Reeve, for example, could have controlled a wheel chair with robotic arms and a voice synthesizer via a cable plugged into a socket at the base of his skull. But that will come, I’m certain. Once the scientific principle is proven the rest is up to the engineers and surgeons.
nk (df76d4) — 12/6/2009 @ 7:29 am“Some of the gestures cannot be disclosed because they were quite vulgar,” joked Dr. Paolo Maria Rossini…”
Consider the possible adverse consequences of someone with Tourette’s Syndrome, a constant tic, associated with habitual spasmodic muscular movement or contraction, usually of the face or extremities often accompanied by spontaneous outbursts of extreme vulgarity.
ropelight (79cdd5) — 12/6/2009 @ 8:12 amExpect to a lot more of this kind of thing. There’s a race on in several fields to achieve advanced prostheses. As nk points out, direct brain interface is probably going to take a while, but if repurposed muscle control is all you need….
Kevin Murphy (3c3db0) — 12/6/2009 @ 8:44 amFaster, please.
Old Coot (166f79) — 12/6/2009 @ 8:59 amThese prostheses are very expensive and maybe one good thing to come out of the Iraq War is an improvement in the prostheses because IEDs have caused so many amputations. One of my medical students elected to have an AK amputation because her total knee, that had been done for a cancer in the knee, was loosening. She had the alternative to have it redone with only a 50% or less chance of success, losing a year of medical school, or have the leg off. Her husband was in the same class and, if she lost a year, they would be out of sync.
Anyway, she had an AK amp but the prosthesis with a smart knee is over $50,000. It’s pretty daunting.
Mike K (2cf494) — 12/6/2009 @ 10:32 am“…he could still scratch his ear with his middle finger whenever he referenced a political opponent…”
In years past, wars have started over lessor slights.
AD - RtR/OS! (f2588c) — 12/6/2009 @ 11:46 amAnd Keith Olbermann would never have to worry about his writing finger.
fat tony (dbdcaa) — 12/6/2009 @ 2:16 pmI heard John Wayne Bobbit was quoted as saying, “there is hope!” allegedly he cried as he said it.
A.W. (e7d72e) — 12/7/2009 @ 7:37 am“gentlemen, we can rebuilt him… We have the technology…”
– Oscar Goldman
R.B. Glennie (f44472) — 12/7/2009 @ 8:10 am