News Archive
Researchers develop a naturally controlled arm
RESEARCHERS believe they have scored a world breakthrough in prosthetic arm technology by developing a mechanical arm that allows users to move and feel objects like that of a biological arm.
An international team, led by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), say that they have created a prototype of the first fully integrated prosthetic arm that can be controlled naturally, provide sensory feedback and allow for eight degrees of motion.
The prosthetic arm technology, named Proto 1 - developed for injured soldiers as part of the American Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Revolutionizing Prosthetics Programme - is a complete limb system that includes a virtual environment.
Stuart Harshbarger from APL, who leads the program, said: “The development of this first prototype is a remarkable accomplishment and serves as validation that we will be able to implement DARPA’s vision to provide, by 2009, a mechanical arm that closely mimics the properties and sensory perception of a biological limb.”
The arm is connected to the wearer's remaining healthy nerves, transferred to nearby pectoral muscles, a process called Targeted Muscle Reinnervation, pioneered by Dr. Todd Kuiken from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), which enables users to have a sense of touch and grip strength even with a prosthetic arm.
In patient trials earlier this year at the RIC, Proto 1 wearers were able to re-adjust their prosthetic thumb for various grips, allowing them to have fine motor skills for things like removing a credit card from a pocket. Users could also gently stack plastic cups without crushing them and they had better arm movement when walking.
Dr. Kuiken, the director of the Neural Engineering Center for Bionic Medicine at RIC, said: “The results are very exciting and I am confident that these discoveries will bring more natural control of prostheses, better artificial limbs and make a difference in the lives of amputees worldwide.”
The research team are currently working on the second prototype of the prosthetic arm, which is expected to be unveiled this summer.
It will have more than 25 degrees of freedom and the strength and speed of movement approaching the capabilities of the human limb, combined with more than 80 individual sensory elements for feedback of touch, temperature, and limb position.
Stuart added: “There is still significant work to be done. It remains a significant challenge, but the progress to date should give hope that the performance of the final limb will significantly improve the capabilities of upper extremity prosthetic limbs.”
RESEARCHERS believe they have scored a world breakthrough in prosthetic arm technology by developing a mechanical arm that allows users to move and feel objects like that of a biological arm.
An international team, led by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), say that they have created a prototype of the first fully integrated prosthetic arm that can be controlled naturally, provide sensory feedback and allow for eight degrees of motion.
The prosthetic arm technology, named Proto 1 - developed for injured soldiers as part of the American Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Revolutionizing Prosthetics Programme - is a complete limb system that includes a virtual environment.
Stuart Harshbarger from APL, who leads the program, said: “The development of this first prototype is a remarkable accomplishment and serves as validation that we will be able to implement DARPA’s vision to provide, by 2009, a mechanical arm that closely mimics the properties and sensory perception of a biological limb.”
The arm is connected to the wearer's remaining healthy nerves, transferred to nearby pectoral muscles, a process called Targeted Muscle Reinnervation, pioneered by Dr. Todd Kuiken from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), which enables users to have a sense of touch and grip strength even with a prosthetic arm.
In patient trials earlier this year at the RIC, Proto 1 wearers were able to re-adjust their prosthetic thumb for various grips, allowing them to have fine motor skills for things like removing a credit card from a pocket. Users could also gently stack plastic cups without crushing them and they had better arm movement when walking.
Dr. Kuiken, the director of the Neural Engineering Center for Bionic Medicine at RIC, said: “The results are very exciting and I am confident that these discoveries will bring more natural control of prostheses, better artificial limbs and make a difference in the lives of amputees worldwide.”
The research team are currently working on the second prototype of the prosthetic arm, which is expected to be unveiled this summer.
It will have more than 25 degrees of freedom and the strength and speed of movement approaching the capabilities of the human limb, combined with more than 80 individual sensory elements for feedback of touch, temperature, and limb position.
Stuart added: “There is still significant work to be done. It remains a significant challenge, but the progress to date should give hope that the performance of the final limb will significantly improve the capabilities of upper extremity prosthetic limbs.”
