Bionic Body

Bionic Eye Implants

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 04:07:00 +0000

Bionic Eye Implants are available. The human eye is blind no more. The full development of the bionic body is coming to a near. Read the following article by Jenny Hope . The article was found on DailyMail.co.uk.

Bionic eye implants make blind 'see again' in pioneering operation

By JENNY HOPE
Last updated at 23:52 21 April 2008

Two blind men who thought they would never see their families again have had vision restored by Britain's first "bionic" eye operations.

Electronic receivers were implanted which take signals from a camera mounted in a pair of glasses.

The technology allows enough vision to find doorways, follow individuals, locate objects across the room and help with eating.

Scroll down for more...

Bionic eye patient Linda Moorfoot: 'I can watch my granddaughter dancing. I can see...'

It gives new hope to sufferers of diseases affecting the retina for which there is no cure.

Surgeons at Moorfields Eye Hospital in central London implanted the artificial retinal devices as part of a Europeanwide clinical trial.

The identity of the two patients, thought to be in their 50s, is being kept secret.

The trial aims to assist those with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of genetic eye diseases affecting the retina which cause progressive loss of vision over decades.

The camera and transmitter in the glasses send a wireless signal to the ultra-thin electronic receiver and electrode panel which are attached to the retina.

Scroll down for more...

The electrodes stimulate the remaining retinal nerves, allowing a signal to be passed along the optic nerve to the brain.

In the brain, patterns of light and dark spots are perceived which give a basic level of vision to the patient, who is able to be more mobile and independent as a result.

A wireless microprocessor and battery pack worn on the belt powers the entire device.

American Linda Moorfoot was totally blind for more than a decade before becoming one of the first patients to test the new technology.

She told Sky News: "When I go to the grandkids' hockey game or soccer game I can see which direction the game is moving in.

"I can shoot baskets with my grandson and I can watch my granddaughter dancing across the stage. I can see ... things! It's wonderful."

The British operations were carried out last week by consultant retinal surgeon Lyndon da Cruz and his team at Moorfields, under the supervision of American colleagues who developed the device with the company Second Sight in the U.S.

Mr da Cruz said: "Moorfields is proud to have been one of only three sites in Europe chosen to be part of evolving this exciting new technology.

"The devices were implanted successfully in both patients and they are recovering well from the operations."

The U.S. developers are now trying to shrink the camera so it will be small enough to be implanted into an eyeball.

They predict these pea-sized video cameras could be ready to be used in surgery in three to five years.

David Head, chief executive of the British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society, said: "These are significant advances and in conjunction with the advances being made in stem-cell therapy and gene therapy, make for really exciting times as we work to translate science into treatment."

Professor John Marshall, chairman of the society's medical advisory board, said: "It is very good news that devices have been developed and some individuals have had these inserted.

"However, the public should not run away with the idea that this is going to be routine surgery in the immediate future because there is an enormous amount to learn."

This article is from DailyMail.co.uk.

Bionic Heart

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:35:00 +0000

BionicHeart.us includes information about artificial hearts. The bionic heart is here and it is only getting better in the future. The bionic body will help us achieve longevity in life. Will the bionic body be the fountain of youth?

BIONICHEART.US

Bionic Body for Baby Boomers

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:16:00 +0000

Baby boomers are are going BIONIC. The BIONIC BODY is here and getting better. We discuss the BIONIC HEART, the BIONIC EYE, the BIONIC LIMB, the BIONIC LEG, the BIONIC FOOT, the BIONIC ARM, and BIONIC HANDS.

Paul Carton discusses baby boomers have a BIONIC BODY. Click here to read his full article. Single baby boomers who have bionic bodies can meet mature local singles in your area. CLICK HERE to meet your next mature companion.

The Bionic Body

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:38:00 +0000

The bionic body is a unique concept. Humans do not have the ability to be like other animals. So to regain new body parts, we need to manufacture them ourselves. The modern body parts are bionic parts.

Howstuffworks.com talks more in depth about this. This is the beginning of their article. If a starfish loses an arm, it's no big deal. A starfish has regenerative capabilities, so the starfish can grow a new arm. In fact, you can cut a starfish in half and each piece could regenerate, forming two separate starfish! Lots of other organisms have ways to regenerate. Some lizards and salamanders can grow new tails and some insects can grow new legs.

Wouldn't it be great if we could repair ourselves in the same way? Imagine losing an arm in an accident, and then growing a new one two weeks later! For more information and to see the rest of this article, CLICK HERE.

Bionic Arm

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:23:00 +0000

Bionic Arm is recently discussed by Wired. Michael Belfiore wrote an article titled The World's Most Advanced Bionic Arm. This article discusses a Bionic Arm prototype that is to be completed by 2009. The article discusses the role of DARPA with the project. At the most recent DARPA symposium, DARPA "Darpa has called on engineers at 28 companies and research institutions in six countries to help."

The entire Wired article can be found at: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/08/bionic_arm.

Bionic Foot

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:07:00 +0000

The bionic foot is designed for someone who needs a new foot.

The world's first intelligent foot module, the PROPRIO FOOT provides unprecedented physiological benefits for transtibial amputees. A wide and automated range of ankle flexion with proven Flex-Foot dynamics means function is as close as you can get today to the human foot.

The PROPRIO FOOT thinks for itself, responding beautifully to changing terrain and transforming the approach to stairs and slopes, as well as level-ground walking. Angling itself appropriately, it also helps amputees to sit and stand up easily and more naturally. The PROPRIO FOOT™ also has a calibrated alignment control feature. Overall, the effect is a feeling of improved proprioception with a more balanced, symmetric and confident gait with reduced wear and tear on the back, hips and knees.

You can find this information and more on the Ossur web page.

Bionc Hands

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:50:00 +0000

Bionic hands allow you to have artificial hands if you have partially or entirely lost one or both of your hands or fingers.

Touch Bionics is a leading developer of advanced upper-limb prosthetics (ULP). The have the worlds first fully articulating and commercially available bionic hand.One of the two products now commercially available from the company, the i-LIMB Hand, is a first-to-market prosthetic device with five individually powered digits. This replacement hand looks and acts like a real human hand and represents a generational advance in bionics and patient care.

The Touch Bionics i-LIMB Hand was developed using leading-edge mechanical engineering techniques and is manufactured using high-strength plastics. The result is a next-generation prosthetic device that is lightweight, robust and highly appealing to both patients and healthcare professionals.The i-LIMB Hand is controlled by a unique, highly intuitive control system that uses a traditional two-input myoelectric (muscle signal) to open and close the hand’s life-like fingers. Myoelectric controls utilize the electrical signal generated by the muscles in the remaining portion of the patient’s limb. This signal is picked up by electrodes that sit on the surface of the skin. Existing users of basic myoelectric prosthetic hands are able to quickly adapt to the system and can master the device’s new functionality within minutes. For new patients, the i-LIMB Hand offers a prosthetic solution that has never before been available.Advanced Design

The modular construction of the i-LIMB Hand means that each individually powered finger can be quickly removed by simply removing one screw. This means that a prosthetist can easily swap out fingers that require servicing and patients can return to their everyday lives after a short clinic visit. Traditional devices would have to be returned to the manufacturer, often leaving the patient without a hand for many weeks.

The above information is found on http://www.touchbionics.com/professionals.php?section=4.

Bionic Leg

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:21:00 +0000

A Bionic leg allows you to have an artificial leg.

Each year, tens of thousands of people in the United States alone lose extremities by amputation and 137,000 of those are lower-limb amputations. The U.S. counts more than 1.9 million amputees, 90 percent of whom have experienced lower-limb amputation. Prosthetics market is expected to increase as the life expectancy of the baby boom population lengthens. Diabetes, a steadily growing disease, currently afflicts approximately 20 million Americans. It is the most frequent cause of non-traumatic lower-leg amputations. Each year, people with diabetes undergo 82,000 lower-extremity amputations. Moreover, by the year 2010, the baby boom population will reach the ages of 46 to 64, enlarging the proportion at risk of diseases causing amputation. By the year 2020, the number of amputees in need of prostheses will increase by 47 percent. Victhom’s bionic leg is a lower-limb prosthesis for people amputated above the knee and is commercialized by Ossur under the name POWER KNEE. It is the first in the world to provide the necessary power to restore amputated lower-limb function during defined portions of locomotion.

The POWER KNEE prosthesis is motorized (battery-powered) and features a set of sensors located on the prosthesis and on the sound leg. The on-board artificial intelligence module continuously receives data from these sensors, interprets the information and sends commands to the motor of the prosthesis to generate the required trajectory that will allow the amputee to perform the current task (level ground walking, stair climbing, etc.). The system is able to anticipate all task modifications. The BioTronix division is also pursuing work on the following generations of motorized lower-limb prostheses. We aim to restore lower-limb functionality by improving biomechanical performance of both the knee and the ankle. Control of the prosthesis through sound side sensory control will be pushed a step further by interpreting the neurological signal to achieve voluntary control into its artificial intelligence.

Article found at Victhom Human Bionics.

Victhom develops human bionic devices. Our objective is to improve the quality of life of people suffering from physical dysfunctions.
When considered appropriate, Victhom acquires technologies and businesses that provide the company with a strategic advantage in the pursuit of its development programs and corporate objectives.
Victhom’s core expertise lies in its capability to develop biomechatronic medical devices and to eliminate technology risks. Victhom teams up with multinational companies for the commercialization of its technologies.

Bionic Limb

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:47:00 +0000

Definition of Bionic Limb: having normal biological capability or performance enhanced by or as if by electronic or electromechanical devices of the projecting paired appendages (as wings) of an animal body used especially for movement and grasping but sometimes modified into sensory or sexual organs b: a leg or arm of a human being.

Definition of Bionic: having normal biological capability or performance enhanced by or as if by electronic or electromechanical devices.

Definition of Limb: one of the projecting paired appendages (as wings) of an animal body used especially for movement and grasping but sometimes modified into sensory or sexual organs b: a leg or arm of a human being.

***Definitions of Bionic and Limb were found provided by Merriam-Webster.

Bionic Eye

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:31:00 +0000

Bionic Eyes plug into the Brain. This article is by Charles Q. Choi from Live Science featured on FoxNews.com.

Researchers have set their sights on bypassing the normal routes of bionics to hook video cameras deep into the brain, allowing the blind to see. The bionic eye system has already proved promising in monkeys.

The goal is to one day provide vision for blind people using twin video cameras worn as a pair of glasses that transmit signals wirelessly to an implant in the brain.

Decades of studies have tried to develop prostheses that restore sight.

One approach generates images by electrically stimulating healthy neurons in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue lining the inner eyeball, and thus mimicking the effects of inbound light.

The other aims to electrically stimulate cells in the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain where visual signals are processed.

Both approaches have drawbacks and have achieved limited success.

To see the rest of the story, go to: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269010,00.html?sPage=fnc.science/humanbody.

Bionic Heart

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:23:00 +0000

The AbioCor is the world's first completely self-contained replacement heart. A product of three decades of research, development and testing, the AbioCor is central to ABIOMED's mission to make real the day when heart failure need not mean the end of life or the ability to enjoy life. Designed to fully sustain the body's circulatory system, the AbioCor is intended for end-stage heart failure patients whose other treatment options have been exhausted.

In 2001, ABIOMED made history when Mr. Robert Tools, a 58-year-old telephone company employee and teacher suffering from end stage heart failure was successfully implanted with the first AbioCor. The FDA approved the Abiocor for commercial approval under a Humanitarian Device Exemption in September, 2006.
ABIOMED is also working on the next generation implantable replacement heart, the AbioCor II. Incorporating technology both from ABIOMED and Penn State, the AbioCor II is smaller and is being designed with a goal of five year reliability.

Bionic

noreply@blogger.com (bands@earthlink.net) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 20:33:00 +0000

Bionic according to Merriam Webster:

Main Entry: bi·on·ic
Pronunciation: bI-'ä-nik
Function: adjective
1 : of or relating to bionics
2 : having normal biological capability or performance enhanced by or as if by electronic or electromechanical devices