Prosthetic limbs, though useful, limit the range of activities that can be performed. Thankfully, all that is changing now. Germany’s Otto Block Healthcare has made an interesting development by creating a bionic arm that can be controlled by the user’s brain.
As of now, these bionic arm is attached to 21-year-old Christian Kandlbauer, who lost both his arms in an accident a few years ago. These bionic arms work with transplanted nerves that receive electrical impulses from the brain, and then have a microcomputer translate these impulses into actual movement.
To show the capabilities of the bionic arms, Kandlbauer has been driving a car. His left arm is the bionic arm, while the right one is a conventional prosthetic. It is good to see prosthetics be able to handle in real-time, and the technology appears to be ready for widespread commercial use. It will be very expensive though.
Via: BBC, Crave
