Posts Tagged: "prosthesis"

Artificial skin and medical bionics are restoring the sense of touch

It appears that we’re on the way towards the creation of an artificial skin product for bionic prostheses that would be able to restore the sense of touch in a person who has lost an appendage. An electronic skin developed by researchers working at Stanford University is capable of transmitting pressure changes through nerve cells, triggering a response from the brain that the artificial skin is in contact with something or someone. The research project, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and led by head researcher Zhenan Bao, has developed a new type of pressure sensor made from a thin, flexible material that can be laid over existing prostheses.

The future of bionic arm tech is mind-controlled, cheap to produce

The first decade of the 21st century saw some major advances in bionic arm technologies. The first half of that decade saw a team of researchers working together at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Center for Bionic Medicine crafted a bionic arm for Jesse Sullivan, a high-power electrical lineman who lost both of his arms in May 2001 as the result of electrocution. The bionic arm is myoelectric, meaning that it is capable of detecting electrical signals generated by the muscles of the human body. To increase the control signals that can be detected from the body, doctors at RIC’s Neural Engineering Center for Artificial Limbs performed a series of nerve-muscle grafts to move nerves which used to travel to the arms into the chest muscles. By increasing the number of control signals that can be read from the patient’s nerves, doctors were able to outfit Sullivan with a working bionic arm that could be controlled naturally from his nerve impulses.

Sony pursues diversified patent portfolio, from video games to pillows for napping

Despite the criticisms of Sony’s R&D activities, the company certainly isn’t lacking for patent rights. During 2014, the company ranked 4th-overall in the world in terms of U.S. patent grants earned that year; its 3,224 patents assigned last year by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office trailed only IBM, Samsung and Canon. Using Innography’s patent analysis tools, we saw a slight discrepancy in 2014 patent totals, although the 3,573 U.S. patents surveyed also include some from Sony Mobile Communications and other subsidiaries.

Hugh Herr, Inventor of the First Bionic Foot and Calf System

“Basic levels of physiological function should be a part of our human rights. Every person should have the right to live life without disability if they so choose.” These words came during a TED Talk given in March of this year by Dr. Hugh Herr, inventor of the BiOM® T2 System, the world’s first bionic foot and calf system and the 2014 Inventor of the Year being recognized by IPOEF. Dr. Herr’s story is one of incredible innovation in the face of a terrible struggle to regain the mobility he lost decades ago during a fateful rock climbing expedition.

The Evolution of Prosthetic Devices: A Patent History

The oldest known prosthetic device existing in our world is also one of the smallest. Scientists have dated a wooden prosthetic toe found in mummified remains in Cairo to somewhere around the year 950 BECAUSE… Advances in bionics and massive investment through the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has brought about an intriguing new wave in prosthetic technology within the past decade. In May of this year, the DEKA Arm system developed by DARPA and Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, was awarded approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This prosthetic system utilizes a series of electrodes capable of reading muscle movement so that a wearer feels as though the appendage is being naturally operated by the brain.