New hope for military amputees

[waltky]

"Lt. Dan, you got new legs!" - Forrest Gump...

'Bionic legs' for military amputees
19 February 2013 - Injured military personnel who have legs amputated are to be given the most up-to-date prosthetic limbs after the government set aside £6.5m for them.

The micro-processor limbs, known as "bionic legs", will be available to service personnel who have been wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan and will offer them greater stability and mobility. The move is expected to benefit about 160 members of the armed forces. The Help for Heroes charity said the money would help "transform lives". Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said it was a top priority to give troops the best possible care and support.

Former soldier and Paralympian Derek Derenalagi with his "bionic leg"

Chancellor George Osborne, who is making the money available from the Treasury's special reserve, added: "Our troops are heroes who have and continue to give absolutely everything for their country and it is only right that we do everything possible to help them, especially when they suffer injury.

Walk backwards

"I am delighted, therefore, that we have been able to make funding available for this cutting-edge prosthetic technology, which will go a long way to improving the lives of people who have done so much for the UK." Experts say the "bionic legs" - the same as those used by Paralympics discus thrower and former soldier Derek Derenalagi - will significantly improve the quality of life and speed of rehabilitation for amputees.

Captain Nick Beighton: "I'm a typical soldier, we want the newest, shiniest things."

The new technology provides better stability and greater mobility, as well as improvements in the ability to step over obstacles, negotiate stairs and walk backwards safely. The limbs will be fitted where clinically appropriate at the Headley Court military rehabilitation centre in Surrey.

BBC News - 'Bionic legs' for military amputees

 

[waltky]

Now there's an app for amputees to program their bionic hands...

App lets amputees program their own bionic hands
May 3,`13 -- Double-amputee Jason Koger used to fly hundreds of miles to visit a clinician when he wanted to adjust the grips on his bionic hands. Now, he's got an app.

Koger came to Philadelphia this week to demonstrate the i-limb ultra revolution, a prosthetic developed by the British firm Touch Bionics. Using a stylus and an iPhone, Koger can choose any of 24 grip patterns that best suit his needs. It's the latest evolution in equipment for Koger, a 34-year-old married father of three from Owensboro, Ky., who lost his hands in an all-terrain vehicle accident in 2008. "Five years ago, I couldn't pull my pants up by myself," said Koger. "Today, I go hunting and do some of the things that I probably never imagined I could have done five years ago."

The technology indicates how rapidly the field of prosthetics is changing, benefiting patients from injured military members to victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Practitioners say increased government research in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is driving some of the advances. In Koger's case, he was shocked by a downed power line. He went into a coma and had no idea until he woke up three days later that doctors had amputated both his limbs at mid-forearm. His wife spent those three days researching prosthetics, Koger said.

Since then, he's used a variety of prostheses, which he considers like tools - different extensions for different tasks. Electric hooks have allowed him to pursue his passion for hunting. Myoelectric hands, which react to electrical impulses generated by his remaining arm muscles, offer more precise movements. The previous version of Koger's myoelectric device required programming by a prosthetist, meaning Koger had to fly to Advanced Arm Dynamics in Dallas. The prosthetist would work with Koger to pick a few grip patterns - such as pinching, pointing or shaking hands - to program into the i-limb.

Yet sometimes Koger would get home and realize they weren't the ones he needed. Now, the latest i-limb comes with iPhone or iPad app that allows Koger to reprogram his hand with the touch of a stylus. On Thursday, he demonstrated by gripping an orange, a baseball and a can of soda. The i-limb allows fingers and thumbs move independently to conform around certain objects, said Ryan Spill, a prosthetist for Advanced Arm Dynamics' new office in Philadelphia, who is working with Koger. The thumb is also motorized, not passive, as in previous prostheses.

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[waltky]

Highly advanced battery-powered modular robotic limbs for military amputees...

Military Amputees May Soon Get 'LUKE' Bionic Arms
January 4, 2017 - A couple of U.S. military amputees may soon get a new type of bionic arm developed with funding from the Pentagon's research arm.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA, recently delivered the first two “LUKE” arms to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, outside Washington, D.C., according to an announcement. The name stands for Life Under Kinetic Evolution, according to the release, but also pays homage to the “Stars Wars” character Luke Skywalker, who receives a robotic hand after losing his own in a lightsaber duel. Yet with its clear translucent plastic hand and silver arm, the “LUKE” limb looks more like those from the robots in the “I, Robot” film.

The Life Under Kinetic Evolution, or LUKE, arm is a highly advanced battery-powered modular robotic limb marketed by Mobius Bionics LLC.​

In a presentation ceremony at Walter Reed, Justin Sanchez, director of DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office, described the technology as “the world’s most advanced prosthetic arm system,” according to video of the ceremony. “It’s a remarkable device,” he said. Dr. Jeffrey Bailey, an Army colonel and director of surgery at Walter Reed added, “This is a very important day in delivering this type of technology to support the ability of folks who are injured serving their country to go back to doing what they want to do.” A hospital spokesman said it’s not yet clear which service members or veterans will be the first recipients of the devices or when they might receive them.

The battery-powered prosthetic weighs about the same as a natural arm and features six types of grips that can be controlled by multiple inputs — even wireless signals from sensors worn on a user’s feet, according to the DARPA release. The technology was developed by DEKA Integrated Solutions Corp., of Manchester, New Hampshire, through DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics program and is being marketed by a company called Mobius Bionics LLC, of the same city. The system, which has already received approval from the Food and Drug Administration, is modular and comes in three configurations, depending on what part of the limb is missing: shoulder, humeral and radial.

Jay Burkholder, a spokesman for Mobius Bionics, didn’t specify how much the technology costs, but said a few dozen have already been built and the manufacturing process is designed to scale. Parts of the devices are built in a facility in Rochester, New York, with final assembly in Manchester, he said during a telephone interview with Military.com. “While the quantity already manufactured is fairly small, the supply chain is established to be able to support growing demand as commercial use increases,” he said in a follow up email. “We are looking forward to providing the most advanced prosthetic arm system to all upper-limb amputees, both military and civilian.”

Military Amputees May Soon Get 'LUKE' Bionic Arms - Defensetech