Suatcan Isik

12/9/2019

Almost a Cyborg: Bionic Arm

 

Losing a limb means a lot if you stop and think about it for a second. You can’t do many things other people can. You can’t play the piano properly, nor you can play video games with your friends, or even basic things like opening a bottle would be hard to deal with.  That is why many organizations are working on this topic. To make these problems disappear, to build something that can help these people live a normal life and do what they want to do. They build bionic arms better and cheaper so that everyone can benefit from this technology.

Many disabled people use normal prosthetics to adapt to social life, to look like other people. They have many downsides. First of all, they are really expensive, it can cost from 5,000 to 50,000 dollars. So, it is kind of hard for everyone to get it. Second, they are uncomfortable. You can’t use it for a long period of time because it can badly damage your skin. Also, you can’t even control them properly. It is just a heavyweight that doesn’t have any function. However, bionic arms give your ability to pick things up, which makes them a very useful tool and not a meaningless weight.

 

 

This person is Johnny Matheny. Matheny lost his arm to cancer. In 2014, he became the first person to get osseointegration surgery, which is to implant a metal stick connected right to his bone. Which allowed him to use the bionic arm for a longer period of time without getting any kind of skin injury. However, the interesting thing is the second surgery he went through. He gets the surgery of muscle reinnervation TMR, to reassign nerves on his arm. This surgery allowed his brain to send correct signals to his arm. So, using sensors that are attached to his arm, he can control the arm just by thinking about it.

 

Miguel Nicolelis is a Brazilian neuroscientist. He studied and published papers about the brain-machine interface in 1999. He invented a brain chip that allowed people to control things just by thinking about it. This chip is planted into the person`s brain with microwires and can read signals produced by neurons. Later signals are transported outside with Bluetooth and can be used for prosthetics.

 

 

 

After his long research about the topic, he implanted a brain chip to a paralyzed man and build an exoskeleton controlled by the chip. The paralyzed man threw the first kick at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

 

 

I believe that we will advance more within time and will be able to upgrade our bodies more efficiently. So that everyone can experience everything there is in life without any obstacle, and disabilities will no longer affect people like the way they did.

 

 

 

Cruz, S. (2019). UA alumnus paves the way for advanced prosthetics. UWIRE Text, p. 1. , from https://go-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/i.do?&id=GALE|A592618489&v=2.1&u=cuny_ccny&it=r&p=STND&sw=w

Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation: Neuroscience Breakthrough Featured June 12 at 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Kick-Off. (2014). Thomson Reuters ONE, p. Thomson Reuters ONE, June 11, 2014., from https://go-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/i.do?&id=GALE|A370885922&v=2.1&u=cuny_ccny&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w

Staff Writers. (2013). Brain prostheses create a sense of touch. Space Daily, Space Daily, March 7, 2013., from https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA321481489&v=2.1&u=cuny_ccny&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w