Bionic Man:Amputee Controls Artificial Leg With Thoughts
Steven L. Fries, CPO
Description
Collection
Title:
Bionic Man:Amputee Controls Artificial Leg With Thoughts
Creator:
Steven L. Fries, CPO
Date:
9/26/2013
Text:
Article submitted by Steven Fries, LPO.
<URL Redacted>
l-leg-with-thoughts/
Bionic Man: Amputee Controls Artificial Leg With Thoughts
September 25, 2013 4:26 PM
Zac Vawter’s ‘bionic’ leg. (CBS)
CHICAGO (CBS) — For the first time ever, doctors have developed an
artificial leg that is controlled by the person’s thoughts.
And it happened here at the Rehabilitation Institute Of Chicago (RIC).
“So I move my leg out, push the toes down and bring my toes back up,” said
Zac Vawter, the first man in the nation to have a so-called bionic leg.
He is able to make these movements just like people with a fully
functioning leg do: With his thoughts.
In 2009, Vawter lost his right leg from above the knee down in a motorcycle
accident. His bionic leg allows him to bend his knee and move his ankle.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “It’s neat. It’s intuitive. It puts energy
into me walking and moving around.”
With a regular prosthetic leg, movement like this isn’t possible.
So how does this all work?
Two nerves in Vawter’s leg were rewired to his hamstring muscle.
Those nerves communicate with the sensors inside the prosthetic leg socket.
The sensors send a message to a computer.
“So when he thinks about straightening or bending his knee, this computer
can detect that and tell the knee to bend or to straighten,” Dr. Annie
Simon, Biomedical Engineer at the RIC.
A team, headed by Dr. Levi Hargrove, spent four years perfecting the
technology Vawter is using.
“He’s giving back so much,” Hargrove said. “He’s taken a less than ideal
situation and made the most of it and he’s helping potentially, millions of
people.”
Vawter, a software engineer, knew about RIC’s bionic research.
He never thought one day, that technology would be used to help him walk.
“RIC is really pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with prosthetics
and it’s exciting to contribute to that and to help them push forward into
new areas of research,” Vawter said.
RIC research is funded through an $8 million grant from the U.S. Army with
a goal of creating better prosthetic limbs.
More than 1,200 soldiers have had lower limb amputations from the conflicts
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
<URL Redacted>
l-leg-with-thoughts/
Bionic Man: Amputee Controls Artificial Leg With Thoughts
September 25, 2013 4:26 PM
Zac Vawter’s ‘bionic’ leg. (CBS)
CHICAGO (CBS) — For the first time ever, doctors have developed an
artificial leg that is controlled by the person’s thoughts.
And it happened here at the Rehabilitation Institute Of Chicago (RIC).
“So I move my leg out, push the toes down and bring my toes back up,” said
Zac Vawter, the first man in the nation to have a so-called bionic leg.
He is able to make these movements just like people with a fully
functioning leg do: With his thoughts.
In 2009, Vawter lost his right leg from above the knee down in a motorcycle
accident. His bionic leg allows him to bend his knee and move his ankle.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “It’s neat. It’s intuitive. It puts energy
into me walking and moving around.”
With a regular prosthetic leg, movement like this isn’t possible.
So how does this all work?
Two nerves in Vawter’s leg were rewired to his hamstring muscle.
Those nerves communicate with the sensors inside the prosthetic leg socket.
The sensors send a message to a computer.
“So when he thinks about straightening or bending his knee, this computer
can detect that and tell the knee to bend or to straighten,” Dr. Annie
Simon, Biomedical Engineer at the RIC.
A team, headed by Dr. Levi Hargrove, spent four years perfecting the
technology Vawter is using.
“He’s giving back so much,” Hargrove said. “He’s taken a less than ideal
situation and made the most of it and he’s helping potentially, millions of
people.”
Vawter, a software engineer, knew about RIC’s bionic research.
He never thought one day, that technology would be used to help him walk.
“RIC is really pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with prosthetics
and it’s exciting to contribute to that and to help them push forward into
new areas of research,” Vawter said.
RIC research is funded through an $8 million grant from the U.S. Army with
a goal of creating better prosthetic limbs.
More than 1,200 soldiers have had lower limb amputations from the conflicts
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Citation
Steven L. Fries, CPO, “Bionic Man:Amputee Controls Artificial Leg With Thoughts,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 5, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/235647.
