Advanced prosthetics allow amputees to perform previously impossible tasks

George Smith

February 18, 2015

We truly live in a wonderful world today, a world where technology is here to aid us at every step and make our lives much more easier. I’m not talking only about smartphones and wireless internet, although those are undoubtedly helpful inventions in their own right. However, technology can do much more than just make our lives better, it can also make lives normal for some people. Holding a glass or drinking water from a bottle constitute daily activities for most of us, but for people who are missing their upper limbs these tasks are extremely difficult or even impossible in many cases. Luckily, advanced prosthetics are now allowing many amputees to perform these activities and in the process, to feel whole again.

Prosthetic legs are already pretty advanced. There some models out there that can allow disabled people to not only walk, but even run as fast as any other person. When it comes to arms however, the technology still needs quite a bit of improving. Creating prosthetics that enable the user to move the artificial fingers and grab objects with them is not an easy feat, but just because it’s challenging it does’t mean that it’s impossible. In fact, the folks over at DARPA have created prosthetics that can be used to perform said tasks and many more. Entitled DEKA Arm System, the prosthesis is controlled by brain waves and marks a very important milestone towards allowing amputees to better interact with various objects.

The video below shows two amputees who are testing early versions of the advanced prosthetics, but the results are already incredible. The two men are demonstrating that the bionic arm can allow the user to eat and drink without help from other people. This is undoubtedly a great achievement, even though many would assume that this technology has been around for many years. DARPA are not the only ones working on this as there are a number of other companies researching and improving advanced prosthetics. The technology is not quite as advanced as many movies make it to be, but little by little it’s definitely getting there.