Many people around the world face challenges in their everyday lives. Some of these people include those with physical disabilities. Whether you are paralyzed, elderly, or an amputee, they all prevent you from living a life of convenience. Although many of these people are stuck for life with these circumstances, there is a technology that’s able to help. For many years prosthetic limbs have helped these people face daily life in an as normal way as possible. They have not always been the best nor one hundred percent reliable, but they have improved many people’s lives. Most commonly we see prosthetic limbs that operate slowly and don’t have much range of motion, not connection with the user. However, in recent years through technological innovation, this is changing.

Allowing prosthetic limbs to act as regular limbs do is challenging. There are many experiments and tests done in order to make sure prosthetics are used correctly. Engineers try to reach realism within their prosthetic models so that it feels natural to the user. In earlier attempts prior to the latest models, they faced challenges when creating them. “We developed a fragile object (referred to as the fragile object simulator or FOS) that “breaks” suddenly in response to

being squeezed with a force exceeding the object’s structural capacity”(Lum, 2). There were many calculations that go into these prosthetics so that people can control them properly. Within the same article, it covers the various tests that were run on these devices. 

These tests ranged from acts of motion, to how frequently amputees decided to use them, and if they were effective at their intended tasks. “there was no clear relationship between frequency of use and accuracy of internal models. For example, subject CT never dropped or broke the device; however, she was only an occasional user”(Lum, 7). If these limbs are to be used every day, then they must be ready to face the tasks of everyday life. They will eventually be utilized by their owners, as often as someone without prosthetics would use their natural arm. Stress tests are important, and it is even more critical that these engineers are able to manipulate their product in a way in which it would be as close to actual arms, so that the user cannot harm to, but also be able to participate in their environment.

Lower body limbs are also commonly used and innovated as well. Just as much effort goes into these as upper body limbs get. Like the upper body limbs, the legs have to be run through many trials in order to be sure that they are reliable pieces of equipment. Not only this but the studies that were done by the World Congress of the International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics decided to use a variety of people with a variety of issues. “Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) aged ≥18 years; (2) amputation between the hip and ankle; (3) amputation due to trauma, dysvascular complications, tumor, or infection…(Hafner, para. 11). As you can see, they performed these tests with those of different reasons of amputation, along with different age groups.

The progression of prosthetic limbs seems slow, but in fact, has been moving at a much better pace than expected. Although there has been much trial and error as discussed in the previous paragraph, there are still remarkable things being done that are astonishing to see. For instance, prosthetic limbs were unable to be felt through their users. In order to make prosthetic limbs as realistic as possible, they would have to have the sense of touch like a natural limb. 

“Force sensors located in the thumb of the prosthesis measure contact and pressure applied to an object while grasping. This information is transmitted to the patients’ nerves leading to their brains. Patients can thus feel when they are touching an object, its characteristics, and how hard they are pressing it” (Chalmers University of Technology, para. 6). This article was only written in the year 2020, indicating that this technology is quite recent. Sadly, because of how recent it is, it will still need more work done, as well as a way to make it affordable. Prosthetic limbs already go for many thousands of dollars.

As you age, your body becomes weaker. Becoming old makes it much harder to move due to joint pain. There is a possible solution to this though, which would be joint replacement surgery. This process is quite complex at the moment since it requires the replication of human joints. “Overall clinical results were satisfactory and the main complications included infection (6%), loosening (4.6%), and component disengagement (14.6%)” (Revell, 613). With a small percentage of error, and the probability of this technology improving, joint replacement is definitely worth it. It allows for old age to be less limiting, and more enjoyable by making people feel as if they were young again. Almost all elderly people are unable to move like they used to which is why this can be something for everyone and not just amputees. 

It is because of these prosthetic limbs that people are now able to live normal lives, free from disability and obstacles. They are becoming better than ever and even allowing amputees to feel again! They even can help you when you’re older so that you don’t feel the effects of aging as much. Although the latest models of these are very expensive, they will most likely become affordable to the majority of people. We have already gotten very far within this field, and people can look forward to the future of what’s to come.

 

Works Cited

Joint Replacement Book –Joint Replacement Technology, edited by Peter A. Revell, Elsevier Science & Technology, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com. libdatabase. newpaltz.edu/lib/newpaltz-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1713972.

Grasping Objects Article – Lum, Peter S., et al. “Internal Models of Upper Limb Prosthesis Users When Grasping and Lifting a Fragile Object with Their Prosthetic Limb.” Experimental Brain Research, vol. 232, no. 12, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2014, pp. 3785–95, doi:10.1007/s00221-014-4071-1.

Lower Limb Article – Hafner, Brian J., et al. “Construct Validity of the Prosthetic Limb Users Survey of Mobility (PLUS-M) in Adults With Lower Limb Amputation.” Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, vol. 98, no. 2, Elsevier Inc, 2016, pp. 277–85, doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2016.07.026.

Nervous System and Prosthetics – Chalmers University of Technology. “Mind-controlled arm prostheses that ‘feel’ are now a part of everyday life.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 April 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200430110321.htm>.