Hello readers, welcome back to part 2 of totally armless, in this part I will be going through the negative side of robotic prosthesis.
Robotic prosthesis offers a large amount of advantages however as always there are also downsides on the other side . Some of the downsides of robotic prosthesis is that majority of the time, in order to incorporate robotics more surgery is required. In most cases further amputation is required to properly fit the robotics to the appropriate nerves. As part of the operation process, a brain chip is also required in order to communication with the robotic limb. This has to be implanted on the brain which may cause scar tissues as the brain heals around the chip.
Up until this point robotic prosthesis is still under heavy development and therefore the cosmetics for this technology is not currently under consideration, and solely in development for practical use and comfort for the user. Though because of this obvious robotic limb being shown in the public, because of the transparent difference between flesh and metal, it may draw the gaze of people around them. The amputee may already have insecurities about their new prosthetic and the constant glare may further increase this insecurity.
With all of the additional surgeries and the implementation process, it makes the average cost for surgery (for a robotic hand) around $11,000, which might cost someone an arm and a leg. Another issue in regards to the price is that robotic limbs are not insured by any of the health organisations, which is especially problematic for those with a low income.
Even though it gives the amputee the ability to make movements which they have lost, there are currently some flaws in the technology that is currently out. Such flaws are that the user has to manually send signals to the limb to recreate movement which is a difficult task and require a great deal of training and rehabilitation. The prosthetic itself is quite heavy and requires an equally large power source to operate. Another set of flaws with robotic prosthesis is that it requires a lot of maintenance and, being robotic it has to be charged and doesn't mix well with water.
So even though there it is a much needed advancement in prosthesis, because this technology is still under development there is going to innately be many issues that need to be solved before it gets widely released and commercially available. The main issue for when development is finished and globally available is going to be the cost required for having a robotic limb.
Thank you for reading and in the next series of totally armless we will be going over the benefits of robotic prothesis, stay tuned readers.
References
Disadvantages - Mitchell robotic limbs (no date) Available at: https://sites.google.com/a/cortland.edu/mitchell-robotic-limbs/disad (Accessed: 26 August 2016).
JSellman and profile, V. my complete (2011) ‘Robotic Prosthetic limbs’, 28 February. Available at: http://justinsellmansitproject.blogspot.co.uk/ (Accessed: 26 August 2016).
News (no date) Available at: http://dev.nsta.org/evwebs/1051a/Current_Tech/default.html (Accessed: 26 August 2016).
Friday 26 August 2016
Tuesday 9 August 2016
Robotic Prosthesis The beginning
Hello readers, welcome to Totally Armless.
In this first part in this four part series, we will be talking about the constantly progressing technology and implementation of robotic prosthesis.
What is robotic prosthesis?
Prosthesis is the attachment of an artificial device, usually to replace a missing body part, in most cases lost through, trauma, disease or genetics. In the past, the replacement of body parts were primarily static in motion, and didn't offer the same sort of movement that was previous able. This inflexibility, meant that in the case of prosthetic legs, it caused sent the vibrations from the impact of walking back upwards towards the rest of their body, causing discomfort.
However in the case of robotic prosthesis, the artificial device is made of robotics, which allows for much greater movement that can mimic the motions of the missing body part, reducing the impact from daily tasks.
How is it implemented?
In order to mimic the motion of the missing body part, the robotic limb has a controller that is connected to the user's nerve and muscular systems. Which sends intention commands from the user to the actuators of the device, and interprets feedback from the mechanical and bio sensors to the user. The actuator mimics the actions of a muscle, producing similar force and movement through the use of motors. This means that even if the body is paralysed, as long as the brain can send signals to the nerves, connected to the actuator, this can enable movement of robotic limbs. The process of controlling robotic through the controller connected to the nerves, requires a great deal of training and rehabilitation, which limits the ability to control multiple robotic limbs simultaneously.
As previously stated there were design limitations of passed implementations, such as lack of motion to accommodate daily activities. Quite recently most of the robotic prosthesis required a harness which became uncomfortable to wear after extended periods of time and, limited the range of motion due to how it was mounted.
However there has been a recent improvement in the technology used, allowing for a more natural and fluent range of motion, without the use of a harness to restrict the motion. To overcome the need for a harness, a process called osseointegration has replaced it Osseointegration is the process that fixes a titanium implant into the marrow space of bone in the residual limb. This process is ground breaking development and allows for further improvement in the field of prosthesis. The main concern is with the distribution of this new technology, as it is currently only prototypes are available in the laboratory. Much of the technological advancements that are being researched need to be tested before they are able to be deployed, for ethical reasons.
To conclude the field of robotic prosthesis is constantly growing and being developed to further mimic human motion and assisting amputees in performing day to day activities. The technology does not just include engineering but also relies heavily on the cognitive and biological functions of the patients.
References
In this first part in this four part series, we will be talking about the constantly progressing technology and implementation of robotic prosthesis.
What is robotic prosthesis?
Prosthesis is the attachment of an artificial device, usually to replace a missing body part, in most cases lost through, trauma, disease or genetics. In the past, the replacement of body parts were primarily static in motion, and didn't offer the same sort of movement that was previous able. This inflexibility, meant that in the case of prosthetic legs, it caused sent the vibrations from the impact of walking back upwards towards the rest of their body, causing discomfort.
However in the case of robotic prosthesis, the artificial device is made of robotics, which allows for much greater movement that can mimic the motions of the missing body part, reducing the impact from daily tasks.
How is it implemented?
In order to mimic the motion of the missing body part, the robotic limb has a controller that is connected to the user's nerve and muscular systems. Which sends intention commands from the user to the actuators of the device, and interprets feedback from the mechanical and bio sensors to the user. The actuator mimics the actions of a muscle, producing similar force and movement through the use of motors. This means that even if the body is paralysed, as long as the brain can send signals to the nerves, connected to the actuator, this can enable movement of robotic limbs. The process of controlling robotic through the controller connected to the nerves, requires a great deal of training and rehabilitation, which limits the ability to control multiple robotic limbs simultaneously.
As previously stated there were design limitations of passed implementations, such as lack of motion to accommodate daily activities. Quite recently most of the robotic prosthesis required a harness which became uncomfortable to wear after extended periods of time and, limited the range of motion due to how it was mounted.
However there has been a recent improvement in the technology used, allowing for a more natural and fluent range of motion, without the use of a harness to restrict the motion. To overcome the need for a harness, a process called osseointegration has replaced it Osseointegration is the process that fixes a titanium implant into the marrow space of bone in the residual limb. This process is ground breaking development and allows for further improvement in the field of prosthesis. The main concern is with the distribution of this new technology, as it is currently only prototypes are available in the laboratory. Much of the technological advancements that are being researched need to be tested before they are able to be deployed, for ethical reasons.
To conclude the field of robotic prosthesis is constantly growing and being developed to further mimic human motion and assisting amputees in performing day to day activities. The technology does not just include engineering but also relies heavily on the cognitive and biological functions of the patients.
References
Macdonald, C., 2016. Man moves his robotic arms with his THOUGHTS. Daily Mail, 13 January. Available at: <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3397823/Man-moves-robotic-arms-MIND-brain-controlled-prosthetic-attaches-implant-patient-s-bone.html> [Accessed 9 August 2016].
@matthewshaer, F. and Shaer, M., 2014. Is this the future of robotic legs? Smithsonian. Available at: <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/future-robotic-legs-180953040/?no-ist> [Accessed 9 August 2016].
Murphy, M., 2015. This mind-controlled prosthetic robot arm lets you actually feel what it touches11 September. Available at: <http://qz.com/500572/this-mind-controlled-prosthetic-robot-arm-lets-you-actually-feel-what-it-touches/> [Accessed 9 August 2016].
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