Growing into your prosthetics

Fusing skin to metal is the secret to making prosthetics more comfortable and usable. In a July 13, 2011 posting, GrrlScientist at the Guardian Science blogs highlights this pioneering research,

… thanks to the work of Professor Gordon Blunn, Head of University College London’s Centre for Bio-Medical Engineering, and his colleagues, including Dr Noel Fitzpatrick, a veterinary surgeon. Professor Blunn has been developing groundbreaking metal prosthetic implants that provide comfort and improved mobility for amputee humans and animals.

… They found that in antlers, the bone structure under the skin is very different to that of the exposed bone.

“It was very porous, with lots of tiny holes, which the dermis [the inner layer of skin] webs its way into”, explained Professor Blunn. [emphasis mine]

This observation led to their breakthrough development, known as Intraosseous Transcutaneous Amputation Prosthesis (ITAP), which uses a layer of porous and bioactive (hydroxyapatite-coated) surfaces that encourage adhesion by living tissues. This living “seal” prevents bacterial infections, thereby allowing surgeons to provide amputees with securely-attached limbs that carry weight in a natural way.

Currently, battery-powered sensors allow human amputees to consciously control the movement of downstream portions of the prosthetic limb, such as flexing the hand on a prosthetic arm.

As an excuse for including this item here on the blog and until I hear otherwise, I choose to think of those tiny holes as being at the nanoscale . Plus, I’ve written about prosthetics and human enhancement a number of times.  Here’s the first in a four-part series on Robots and Human Enhancement, July 22, 2009 posting.

As for Blunn’s work, GrrlScientist includes a video and pictures as well as more details about it.

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