Icelandic Össur Technology announces that they have successfully made and installed subconsciously controlled prosthetic lower legs, ankles, and feet for two amputees and are preparing large-scale clinical trials. They hope to have such artificial legs (requiring surviving thighs) widely commercially available within three to five years. The company previously won the 2005 'Best of What's New' Popular Science magazine award for their artificial knee.
The legs use implants called myoelectric sensors (IMES Implanted MyoElectric Sensor) provided by the Alfred Mann Foundation from the United States. It's a bit unclear why Össur claims to be first as IMES have previously been used to trigger prosthetic leg movement by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago but it seems that Össur are the first to have amputees using such artificial legs, from the Popular Science article:
Ossur's sensor-linked limbs, meanwhile, have stood up to the abuses of everyday activity in Iceland and England (where Olafsson now lives). During the 14-month testing period, the company's two "first-in-man" subjects have worn the devices as their sole prostheses. Ossur checks the equipment and collects data, but the limbs are theirs. And the surgery to implant the sensors was minimal. According to Thorvaldur Ingvarsson, an orthopedic surgeon and head of R&D at Ossur, the procedure took 15 minutes, and each sensor required a single-centimeter-long incision. The tiny sensors (3 millimeters-by-80 millimeters) are powered by magnetic coils embedded in the socket -- the cushioned, hollow component that fits over a user's residual limb, and connects to the prosthesis. Since there are no integrated batteries to deal with, there's no need to replace the sensors (unless they fail for other reasons). "We believe this is a lifelong sensor," says Ingvarsson.
The IMES are surgically implanted in residual muscle tissue and connected to a receiver in the prosthetics, the signaling is continuous, immediate/real-time, and subconscious or instinctual (in addition to deliberate) in the same manner as with ordinary leg use.
The story has also been reported by RT which has some different images of the devices.
Original Submission
(Score: 2, Troll) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday June 08 2015, @11:40PM
My idea was to cut a frog's legs off, then hook up electrical sensors to its nerves, that would control electromechanical legs.
My mother's father was a surgeon who perished at quite a tragically early age, so she has always encouraged any interest I've ever shown in medicine. At the time she was a university librarian, so she brought home lots of books for me about frog anatomy, dissection and so on.
I learned quite a lot but then I started to contemplate what the experience would feel like for my test subjects.
Frogs are so commonly used for dissection that their anatomy is just about as well documented as that of humans.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 08 2015, @11:50PM
Human anatomy is well documented because Nazi doctors documented it. You're welcome.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday June 09 2015, @12:16AM
... when asked whether the nazi discoveries should be kept, for example taught to medical students, they want them to be so that the sacrifices of the holocaust victims will not have been in vain.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Touché) by Anne Nonymous on Tuesday June 09 2015, @12:53AM
...or in vein, either.
(Score: 2) by tathra on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:49PM
the ends do not justify the means, but once the knowledge is already obtained, its stupid to forget it or let it go to waste just because it was obtained unethically. the problem of "this knowledge would be incredibly helpful to all but would be unethical to obtain" is neatly sidestepped by getting it from sick fucks with no ethics. we shouldn't encourage such actions, but whats done is done; we can't change the past so we may as well make the best of those bad situations.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday June 09 2015, @01:17AM
I was quite the science nerd when I was a kid.
Unfortunately there is a good reason that there is such a thing as the study of ethics.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @02:38AM
Cool story, brah.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 08 2015, @11:44PM
You gonna walk to the liquor store and rob the place for me. You got no choice. I control yer fuckin legs, bro.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @12:19AM
Dancing with the Stars!
They have had to amputees on the show. This would be the key next step, no possible "messing with scoring" to handle a girl with no ankles who can't point the toes or the army vet with no left arm or left leg, trying to do lifts and twirls. Though note, they both did very well and the pros, did a great job for pulling together every good routines.
Once they compete there, then we can talk about the Olympics again. But no shooting competitions!
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday June 09 2015, @12:49AM
Time to order the prosthetic legs and fasten them on commodity robots.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @02:49AM
I'm a frequent donor at the sperm bank.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @03:15AM
Shut up --goo'g__
(Score: 2) by Kell on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:01AM
No. Hands are radically harder. With legs we're at the point now where full basic mobility and most functional elements are restored (up to and just short of things like rock climbing). With hands, we're still struggling to do substantially better than a split hook body-powered manipulator for practical daily living tasks. While advanced neuro-interface limbs are making huge leaps every year and it's just a matter of time, for now the vast majority of people are using technology that's effectively unchanged since 1946.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by KGIII on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:06AM
How much longer until they can put a wifi antenna on the top of my head (I still have hair, damn it) and an ethernet jack in my neck so that I can just "jack in" (not the opposite of jack off) to the 'net and be done with it? Seriously. I would volunteer and pay for as much of the research as I can afford if someone had a realistic idea as to how to do this. I would even go so far as to insist the research be open to the public and hardware be standards compliant.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:44AM
Malware uploaded into your brain. You now have an insatiable craving to eat some Twinkies. Don't stop until you die.
(Score: 1) by KGIII on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:37AM
I am hoping brain power will negate the need for AV software but security is a process. I am going to go with obscurity and install Puppy Linux. I am also old so I do not have much drive space left. I may dual boot and use a proprietary OS for when I am intoxicated and want to apply meatspace caps lock.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:59PM
If these are so great, why hasn't Dr. X been using them??