Bionic prostheses instead of injured hands

Doctors performed the first "bionic reconstruction" of the hand

"Russian Planet"(In fact, far from the first: for example, almost a year ago, the FDA allowed the sale of the "Luke Skywalker prosthesis", but not temporary, as part of clinical research, but permanent implantation of bionic prostheses – still a rare phenomenon – VM.)

The staff of the Medical University of Vienna reported on the successful "bionic reconstruction" of the upper limb, writes New Scientist (Men have hands amputated and replaced with bionic ones).

The study involved three patients whose upper limbs lost mobility due to severe injuries. According to data published in The Lancet (Aszmann et al., Bionic reconstruction to restore hand function after brachial plexus injury: a case series of three patients – VM), the technique of "bionic reconstruction" allowed patients using a bionic prosthetic arm to control many movements involving the upper limb.

All the patients who took part in the study had healthy muscles taken from the lower extremities transplanted into the injured arm. In addition, the doctors removed from the damaged arm those tissues whose function was completely lost.

After that, the study participants learned to control a virtual limb for nine months using a special computer program. Then the doctors performed partial amputation operations on the injured limbs, replacing them with bionic prostheses.

"We have worked with people who, as a result of severe injuries, have lost the ability to control hand movements. Despite the fact that there are surgical ways to eliminate such disorders, our method is more effective. Patients will not play the piano, but they will be able to hold a fork or play a ball without difficulty," said Oskar Aszmann, head of the study.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru26.02.2015