It seems that reality trumps classic science fiction as new research takes the bionic arms of the
Six Million Dollar Man from fantasy to feasibility. Scientists from the United States have developed an artificial hand and a groundbreaking surgical technique that work in tandem and promise to restore the sense of touch to amputees.
According to the
Daily Mail, two patients have successfully undergone a surgical procedure that links the advanced prosthetic to the absent limb's nerves and reroutes the nerves to the upper torso, where they grow toward the skin surface. While the redirected nerves make the patients feel sensations from their "hands" on their chest, researchers suggest that the technique may be manipulated to offer amputees the hope of replacing lost appendages with artificial arms that simulate feelings of pressure and pain.
The patients, Claudia Mitchell, an ex-US Marine, and Jesse Sullivan, now wear the most advanced prostheses in the world after the surgery conducted by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago's Dr. Todd Kuiken. The surgical technique, dubbed targeted reinnervation (TR), promises to revolutionize the treatment options for amputees. Researchers hope that within a few years such prosthetic limbs may be available on a wide scale.
Equally important to the prospect of returning sensation to patients is that the treatment returns limb mobility as well. Indeed, scientists envision bionic arms available to all amputees that not only transmit sensory impressions to their wearers, but whose movement is controlled by their owner's thoughts. Ms. Mitchell is the first beneficiary of such a vision, boasting that she not only feels pain and pressure from her new arm (on her chest), but that she can peel a banana and cut steak too. The movement is made possible by the redirected nerves near the skin surface that send electrical signals to sensors on her chest and are picked up by the artificial appendage.
Curious? Read more about the prosthetic hand's amazing mobility in the medical journal The Lancet, or find more info about the surgery's potential to restore sensation in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. What's noteworthy about this latest news is that while there are a number of
bionic hands now available or in development, none of them operate using real nerves that produce the most authentic sensations. Clearly, scientists aren't waiting on Arnold Schwarzenegger to leave his severed robotic arm from the future laying around for them to develop cyborg technology like they did in the
'Terminator.' It's already here.
From the
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