A new kind of prosthetic tree branch is revolutionise the manner amputees can move . researcher at Johns Hopkins University’sApplied Physics Laboratoryand the Canadian robotics companyThalmicLabshave develop a non - invasive arm prosthetic that can be controlled with the mind .
The Modular Prosthetic Arm works in concurrence with twoMyoarmbands — a $ 200 wearable technical school originallydesignedfor gesture - free-base calculator and TV game control . The radiocommunication isthmus record galvanic activity in the muscles of the arm so the substance abuser can move the prosthetic naturally , picking up object or move his fingers just as he would a real branch . The electromyography signal from the musculus are sent wirelessly to a computer , where they ’re processed and then sent back to the prosthetic to tell it what joints to operate .
In spring 2015 , California researchers were able to programme a robotic branch so that a paralyzed man could control it with his judgement , allowing him todrink a beerunaided . However , that cognitive process required implant electrode in the patient ’s brain . A Myo - controlled prosthetic does n’t require anything more than strapping on an armband .
The affected role in the video above , Johnny Matheny , does have his prostheticsurgically attachedto his upper arm . Attached to the bone in his subdivision , this implanted socket eliminates some of the uncomfortableness of endure a faux limb ( like diaphoresis and chafing ) and apply him a much wider range of motion , give up him to reach above his brain and behind his back . With this Myo - enabled prosthetic , he ’s able to control item-by-item fingers , grasp objects , and move his wrist , but by go the muscles in the remaining part of his arm .
" The APL limb is the most alone arm I ’ve ever worn , " Matheny say in the video recording . " It has the ability to do anything that your natural hand , wrist , human elbow , shoulder can do . "
The system is n’t quite quick for unremarkable enjoyment — Matheny only apply it in the lab right now — but the researchers hope to make it more broadly usable at some decimal point in the future .
[ h / t : Engadget ]
