The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) in collaboration with Northwestern University (NWU) is giving new hope to millions of unfortunate people with disabilities worldwide with the “bionic” leg they created. This prosthetic limb will be able to successfully replace the human leg and, going a step further, allow the user to control it as they would a normal limb.
Its development took 4 years and required 8 million dollars, funding that came from the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) of the US Army. The primary goal is to serve and relieve the nearly 1,200 active duty soldiers or veterans who have seen one or both of their lower limbs amputated after injuries and hardships. You may remember last year the first, big test of the artificial leg, with Zac Vawter climbing the 113 floors of Chicago's Willis Tower! Now it is even more sophisticated and improving over time, getting closer to final production!
Unlike a simple prosthetic limb, the RIC bionic leg has sophisticated sensors (accelerometer, height and tilt sensor) to perform the typical movements of a leg with greater precision and success. Even more, through special electrodes it can be connected to the nerve endings , allowing him to give commands with his brain, just as he would give his normal leg!
Thanks to the above technology and implementation, the patient with the bionic leg can now climb stairs, run, walk and sit with almost the same ease as a healthy person. It is a real leap forward in the field of prosthetic limbs and holds great promise for the future. Furthermore, the technology used in it can also be used to create an “exoskeleton” leg, which can be placed in operation alongside a normal human limb and add strength and endurance to it… is the era of Iron Man not so far away anymore?
Source: digitallife.gr
