Prosthetics

For some time now, we've been hearing about prosthetic limbs that are designed to work with amputees' bodies. MIT researchers are taking a different approach, though, with a new type of amputation that facilitates the use of prostheses.

There are already computer vision systems and sensor-equipped gloves that can detect a person's hand gestures. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley have developed an alternative technology, however, that offers some key advantages.

Whenever someone receives an implant such as an artificial hip, there's always a risk that it won't integrate with the surrounding bone, ultimately causing it to separate and fail. A new coating, however, has been created to keep that from happening.

An international team of scientists is reporting success with one of the most advanced bionic arms ever made. Users control the prosthesis just by thinking about it, while it feeds the sensation of touch back to the brain.

Insects rapidly transition between walking gaits, in response to external stimuli. Scientists have now created a robot that does the same thing, utilizing an artificial neural network – the tech might ultimately find use in better prostheses.

Various groups have already developed "thought-controlled" prosthetic hands, that respond to nerve impulses in the user's residual arm stump. A new system could make such hands easier than ever to use, by amplifying those impulses.

Scientists at Caltech and Stanford University have developed a tiny prosthetic that gives jellyfish an ability to swim faster while using less energy, all with the aim of one day using them to monitor the ocean environment.

Given that parents are already reluctant to buy fancy clothes that their tyke will soon outgrow, it follows that they would really question buying their amputee toddler a prosthetic arm. A new prosthesis, however, could prove to be quite inexpensive.

Amputees wishing to get a powered prosthetic hand – also known as a bionic hand – typically have to wait quite a while for it to be manufactured. Soon, however, they should be able to order a custom bionic hand that's 3D-printed within 10 hours.

Researchers at the University of Utah have been working on an advanced type of prosthetic and are now showing off what they call one of the world’s first truly bionic legs, with an early tester describing it as a Terminator-like experience.

Scientists studying brain-computer interfaces at Johns Hopkins University are reporting a big breakthrough, demonstrating a system that enables a quadriplegic to control and gain feedback from two prosthetics arms at once.

Scientists from the EPFL research institute are developing new technology, in which a computer takes over certain functions of prosthetic hands.