Prosthetics: The History of a Futuristic Field
Prosthetics are a part of the increasingly popular field of robotics. Not the mechanical robots that can build cars or play piano, but rather, human-like robotics called bionics. Prosthetics and robotic bionics go hand in hand (pun intended).
Modern robots have existed for well over half a century, simple human-controlled machines that could perform predetermined tasks. But those robots were never created with humans in mind. Then came the advent of cybernetics and the creation of prosthetics, a combination of robotics and medicine to better aid and understand the human body.
Uses
A prosthetic is an artificial replacement of a limb, tooth, eye, palate, or joint. Prosthetic robots are usually artificial limbs, and they are specifically designed for motion and for the completion of specific tasks. Designed to fit many different people and many different lifestyles, the styles of prosthetic limbs range from design for specific activities such as swimming and sprinting to design for everyday use and comfort. Prosthetics help those with missing limbs gain ambulatory abilities and give them the ability to perform everyday tasks.
There are an estimated 2 million amputees in the United States alone, and 185,000 amputations occur every year in the United States as a result of cancer, abnormal tissue, trauma, and infection. Even more people are born without limbs naturally. For all of these people, prosthetic limbs are a necessary part of life.
History
Comfort and functionality have been intertwined in making prosthetics since the first recorded prosthesis, which was not a limb, but a big toe. Dated from 950 to 740 BCE, this big toe was designed to allow the wearer, a noblewoman in Egypt, to wear the traditional Egyptian sandals. While not necessary, the prosthetic toe was likely created for her comfort. As time progressed, the functionality of a prosthetic was emphasized more. Roman general Marcus Sergius was the first documented user of a prosthetic hand. The hand was made of iron and specifically designed to allow him to hold his shield while he fought in battle. In fact, warfare would go on to bring many advances in the field of prosthetics, due to battle’s propensity for bloodshed and loss of limb.
Inspired by his experience treating soldiers, Ambroise Paré, a French surgeon, developed a hinged prosthetic hand and a prosthetic leg with a locking knee joint in the 16th century. Paré is credited with making prosthetics a scientific field. In 1696, Pieter Verduyn, a Dutch surgeon, invented a prosthetic with external hinges and a leather thigh socket. His design was very similar to some types of prosthetics today.
A few hundred years later, the American Civil War brought a notable advancement to the field of prosthetics. James Hanger, an engineering student who left his education to fight in the Civil War, lost his leg in a battle. He survived a dangerous amputation surgery, and upon returning home, Hanger built the “Hanger Limb” in 1861. The Hanger Limb was revolutionary for its ability to bend at both the ankle and the knee.
More than 30 years later, Giuliano Vanghetti, an Italian physician, applied an arm prosthetic where it could be moved by the muscles in the remaining part of the arm. Vanghetti was the first to develop a prosthetic limb that connected to the internal structure of the arm to allow movement. For the past hundreds of years, scientists and doctors had been attempting to replicate the lost part of the human body. However, in the 1970s, Ysidro Martinez took a different approach; he designed a prosthetic based on functionality, instead of focusing his design on making a prosthetic as similar as possible to a natural human body part. His design was lightweight and had a high center of gravity, which reduced friction and allowed for better acceleration. Martinez designed his prosthetic to improve upon the natural abilities of the human body, instead of trying to replicate the function of the human body. This improvement set the stage for modern prosthetic development.
Modern Prosthetics
None of the aforementioned prosthetics were robotic; however, as robotic technology improved, many prosthetic pioneers turned to robotics to make even more advanced prosthetic limbs. Scientists are now making robotic prosthetics, allowing for more motion, control, and precision. The LUKE arm, developed by the company DEKA, allows for complex movement with high dexterity and agility. The LUKE arm allows many prosthetic wearers to move in ways that their previous prosthetic did not allow them to do. Many prosthetic limbs are being made with a better range of motion due to robotics.
In 2016, the University of Chicago and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center worked together to create an advanced robotic arm that could be controlled by one’s mind. The University of Chicago and the University of Pittsburgh plan to continue their research, in the hopes that they will be able to create a prosthetic with the same dexterity as a human hand that the brain can fully control.
Another advancement of robot prosthetic limbs is giving amputees the ability to feel again. In 2018, the University of Utah reengineered a prosthetic system to allow an amputee to feel again. By replicating more than one hundred sensors in the human hand, the researchers were able to have the robotic hand send sensory messages to the arm similar to what the human hand would send. This advancement allowed the amputee to receive sensory feedback — meaning the amputee could feel through the prosthetic hand.
Robotic prosthetics have allowed and are allowing many new advancements in the field of prosthetics. While historically prosthetics have not been robotic, the conjunction of robots and prosthetic limbs will allow for many new advancements; many researchers are now hopeful that they will be able to design a prosthetic that is synonymous to or even better than a human hand. Robots are allowing the brain to control prosthetic limbs and are allowing humans to regain the sensation of feeling.
These advancements have changed countless lives, and as they improve, robotic prosthetics will continue to advance and change the lives of amputees globally.
