The Importance of Advancements in Prosthetic Device Technology

The twentieth century brought us airplanes, personal computers, and even implantable pacemakers to treat heart disease. Each of these new inventions incorporated new technology that revolutionized its respective industry. These of course are only three examples from an exhaustingly long list of innovations that had an insurmountable impact on human life. But there is one key product category missing from that list; prosthetic devices for amputees.

Made famous by pirates like Long John Silver, the wooden peg leg dates back as far as 3500 B.C.. Yet as recently as the middle of the twentieth century, the most commonly issued prosthetic device was still a wooden leg. Only minor improvements had been made such as a bending knee or a plastic foot that aesthetically looked a bit more lifelike. Other designs require the user to constantly pull levers and push buttons to operate the device while walking or running. These are hardly an advantage because they tie up another of the user’s limbs in addition to the limb (or limbs) that is already amputated. We’ve done away with mechanical levers and replaced them with computers in almost every other application of science.

So why has such little progress been made on artificial limb improvements since the Egyptians?

Until recently, prosthetic device technology was an embarrassment to our society. Fortunately, a handful of companies and innovators have been pushing to change this issue. We are beginning to see myoelectric prosthetic hands which use electrodes to record nerve signals and operate the prosthesis.

This means, if the user tells their brain, “Hey brain, close my hand around that cup,” the prosthetic hand will close around the cup.

This technology is revolutionizing the existing hooks and claws used for prosthetic hands. For lower-limb prostheses, microcontrollers are being incorporated to assist the user when walking. The computerized knee will recognize when the user starts to climb stairs, and switch into a stair-climbing mode to help raise the leg up to the next step. However it isn’t quite as easy as I just made it sound. We are still miles away from creating something like Will Smith’s bionic arm in the movie, iRobot. There’s a dump truck full of challenges that come with hooking up devices to our thoughts, or programming computers to predict our next steps.

These challenges call for our most creative designers and brightest engineers to collaborate with amputees and take prosthetic device technology to the next level. Just like any new technology, this also brings in the challenge of manufacturing the device for an affordable cost to make it available to all amputees. Indeed, these are challenges that are proving tough to tackle.

But keep in mind, the iPad wasn’t built in a day.

Looking out on the horizon, the next generation of prosthetic devices will change the way amputees live their daily lives. This is an area of technology that has been long overdue, and much anticipated. Soon we will not see an amputee as a person with a disability. Instead we will see a person with a leg or arm that is twice as strong, doesn’t bleed when cut or scraped, and won’t require carpal tunnel corrective surgery from a lifetime of typing on a computer.

Robert DeRohan is a Biomedical Engineering graduate student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He has worked with several medical device companies including Boston Scientific Neuromodulation and Edwards Lifesciences, developing ‘deep brain stimulation’ and ‘heart valve therapy’ devices, respectively. Currently, DeRohan researches and develops innovative prosthetic devices as a consultant for QL+ (Quality of Life Plus) in partnership with the NSWF (Navy Seal Warrior Fund).