http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/prosthetics/ en-us Fri, 30 May 2008 04:51:26 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023374/posts Two monkeys with tiny sensors in their brains have learned to control a mechanical arm with just their thoughts, using it to reach for and grab food and even to adjust for the size and stickiness of morsels when necessary, scientists reported on Wednesday. The report, released online by the journal Nature, is the most striking demonstration to date of brain-machine interface technology. Scientists expect that technology will eventually allow people with spinal cord injuries and other paralyzing conditions to gain more control over their lives. The findings suggest that brain-controlled prosthetics, while not practical, are at least technically within... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023374/posts#comment Fri, 30 May 2008 04:51:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015029/posts Young Iraqi Girl Receives Prosthetic Legs May 12, 2008 BY Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq Shiad Abas Aziz and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Luis Falcon, a squad leader with the 2nd Infantry Division, look on as Shiad is given instructions on how to properly care for her new legs. Photo by Airman 1st Class Andrew Davis BAGHDAD (Army News Service, May 12, 2008) - A 12-year-old Iraqi girl received two new prosthetic legs May 9, as part of an Iraqi Ministry of Defence program at the MOD Prosthetics Clinic located in the International Zone. Shiad Abas Aziz from Baquba... Army.mil http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015029/posts#comment Tue, 13 May 2008 00:35:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009418/posts Chris Cummings, a prosthetist in the IA Surgeon GeneralÂ’s Office Prosthetics Clinic in Baghdad, runs some tests on 1st Lt. Mohy AliÂ’s limb during an initial visit April 21. Mohy, an IA Soldier, lost his foot during an IED attack Jan. 10 while on a joint mission with Coalition forces. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Tami Hillis, 4th BCT Public Affairs. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — At approximately 12:46 p.m., Jan. 10, everything changed for one Iraqi Army Special Forces platoon leader. While on a joint mission with Coalition forces, the 8th IA Division Soldier was struck by an improvised... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009418/posts#comment Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:40:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1999611/posts If you’ve ever wondered what the Marines have in mind when they advertise for “a few good men,” look no further than Gunnery Sgt. William “Spanky” Gibson. Two years ago, he lost a leg to a sniper’s bullet in Iraq. Today, he’s back in the combat zone — by his own choice. MSNBC/today.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1999611/posts#comment Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:12:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993037/posts Cpl. Garrett Jones tested his new prosthesis yesterday in the halls of the San Diego Naval Medical Center. Jones was seriously wounded last year in an ambush in Iraq. SEAN M. HAFFEY / Union-Tribune Prosthetist Randy Whiteside assisted Cpl. Garrett Jones yesterday at the San Diego Naval Medical Center. Jones' left leg was amputated at mid-thigh The bomb exploded as Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Pofahl turned around to talk with Cpl. Garrett Jones during a foot patrol in Karmah, Iraq. Despite being thrown forward, Pofahl quickly pushed himself off the ground and rushed toward the site of the screams.... San Diego Union http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993037/posts#comment Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:55:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1974212/posts Dean Kamen's "Luke Arm" Prosthesis Readies for Clinical Trials By Sarah Adee This story is part of a series about advances in prosthetic arms. For more, watch the video of the "Luke Arm" in action. PHOTO: Dean Kamen: DEKA Research; Robo Hand: Dirk van der Merwe Dean Kamen's “Luke arm”—a prosthesis named for the remarkably lifelike prosthetic worn by Luke Skywalker in Star Wars—came to the end of its two-year funding last month. Its fate now rests in the hands of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which funded the project. If DARPA gives the project the green... IEEE Spectrum Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1974212/posts#comment Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:07:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963703/posts Vietnam Vet's Prosthetic Arm Stolen in the video section click "Man's Prosthetic Arm Stolen" click here for video link WSPA NEWS CHANNEL 7 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963703/posts#comment Sat, 2 Feb 2008 11:40:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1938738/posts Nothing is going to keep Louis Wolf from moving forward. In January 2005, the 67-year-old resident from Northwest suffered a sudden blood clot after a 20-hour flight from Vietnam to Chicago, Ill. The blood clot led to the amputation of his left leg in March 2005. Before the surgery, he said he made a conscious decision to walk again. He currently wears a C-Leg, a top-of-line computerized leg that allows him to keep that promise. Many military personnel who have lost limbs while serving in the war in Iraq are using similar prosthetics. "If not for the war, though I'm... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1938738/posts#comment Thu, 13 Dec 2007 04:20:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1923122/posts A Day in the Life of President Bush (with photos): 11-8-07 Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island QUOTE(s) OF THE DAY "This center was funded entirely by contributions of more than 600,000 Americans through what's called the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. This center is a tribute to the generosity of the American people. Make no mistake about it, the American people support the men and women who wear our nation's uniform. This center is a testament to our deep belief that someone wounded in the defense of America needs all the help he or she can get. The servicemen... WhiteHouse website, Yahoo news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1923122/posts#comment Fri, 9 Nov 2007 02:01:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917555/posts What defines a hero? A long line of dignitaries stood on stage Saturday in the back parking lot of First Baptist Church and praised the heroic efforts and example of Marine 1st Lt. Andrew Kinard, a Spartanburg native who lost both of his legs and suffered a laundry list of other severe injuries on Oct. 29, 2006, in Iraq.They talked about the six others from this county who have gone to war in recent years and not come home - and other servicemen and women who have been injured. They called Andrew "Spartanburg's hero" and "America's best." They called him... Spartanburg Herald-Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917555/posts#comment Sun, 28 Oct 2007 15:18:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917383/posts For patients who have lost a limb, prosthetic devices frequently come as mixed blessing. Aesthetically, they may provide a valuable boost to self-esteem and confidence. But heavy, uncomfortable and difficult to use, most will seldom provide a level of sensitivity sufficient to render them anything other than an additional encumbrance. For a group of researchers at Hebrew University [of Israel], though, one novel approach to the measurement of brain activity has suggested how one day a metal-and-plastic limb might operate just as effectively as its flesh-and-blood prototype - and, in the process, teach us more about how the brain interacts... Israel21C http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917383/posts#comment Sun, 28 Oct 2007 00:20:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1900603/posts LOS ANGELES — A man accused of stealing three endangered iguanas from a nature preserve in Fiji and smuggling them into the United States in his prosthetic leg has been indicted. Jereme James, 33, of Long Beach, faces a single count of smuggling, according to a federal indictment returned Friday in Los Angeles. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Prosecutors say James stole the Fiji Island banded iguanas while visiting the South Pacific island in September 2002. He then brought the reptiles to the U.S. by hiding them in a special compartment he had constructed... Houston Chronicle via Ass. Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1900603/posts#comment Sat, 22 Sep 2007 14:18:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1891155/posts WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2007 – A Maryland-based group is out to show severely wounded servicemembers they’ve still got game through the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project. Jason Beakes holds a prosthetic leg for Army Sgt. Brandon Huff at the end of the day’s runs at Dickerson Whitewater Course, in Dickerson, Md., March 12, 2005. Beakes, a champion whitewater kayaker, volunteers with Team River Runner, teaching kayaking to disabled veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Photo by Neil Hermansdorfer  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “The idea for the program is to … get these guys active as soon... America Supports You http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1891155/posts#comment Tue, 4 Sep 2007 23:41:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1871763/posts ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK -- Iraq war veteran Sgt. Juan Arredondo can grasp tennis balls and door knobs with his left hand again, now that he's been outfitted with a bionic hand that has flexible fingers. The 27-year-old former soldier, who lost his left hand in 2005 during a patrol, is one of the first recipients of the i-LIMB. "To have this movement, it's -- it's amazing," Arredondo said Monday as he showed off the limb made by Scotland-based Touch Bionics. "It just gets me more excited about now, about the future." The prosthetic hand is made of semi-translucent plastics.... Contra Costa Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1871763/posts#comment Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:24:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1849221/posts WASHINGTON, June 12, 2007 – For prosthetic technician Jared Scott McClure, it’s all about the “pull.” Walter Reed Army Medical Center prosthetic technician Jared Scott McClure works to remove the test socket from the plaster cast of a patient’s residual limb. How well he does his job determines the fit and function of the permanent socket, and, ultimately, how well the servicemember performs with their prosthetic. Defense Dept. photo by Fred W. Baker III  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. He’s referring to the process in which he pulls a hot sheet of plastic over the plaster mold of... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1849221/posts#comment Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:34:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1777852/posts Close window Published online: 2 February 2007; | doi:10.1038/news070129-14 Re-wiring brings back touch for amputated limbSurgery opens door to prosthetics that can 'feel'.Heidi Ledford Claudia Mitchell's prosthetic arm works on her thoughts.CALEB JONES/AP/EMPICS Surgeons have managed to give an amputee not only a prosthetic arm that moves as directed by her thoughts, but also the feeling of touch — albeit in the wrong part of her body. When Claudia Mitchell presses an area on her chest, where surgeons re-wired the nerves that used to run to her hand, it feels to her as if her fingers are being touched.... news@nature.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1777852/posts#comment Fri, 2 Feb 2007 08:01:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701525/posts She's being called the world's first "bionic woman." Claudia Mitchell, who lost her left arm in a motorcycle accident, can move her replacement robotic arm just by thinking. "I can flex my elbow and open and close my hand with the mere thought of doing it," she said. ... Chicago Sun-Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701525/posts#comment Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:49:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701732/posts DAYTON, Tenn. - Jesse Sullivan has two prosthetic arms, but he can climb a ladder at his house and roll on a fresh coat of paint. He's also good with a weed-whacker, bending his elbow and rotating his forearm to guide the machine. He's even mastered a more sensitive maneuver - hugging his grandchildren. The motions are coordinated and smooth because his left arm is a bionic device controlled by his brain. He thinks, "Close hand," and electrical signals sent through surgically re-routed nerves make it happen. Doctors describe Sullivan as the first amputee with a thought-controlled artificial arm. Researchers... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701732/posts#comment Fri, 15 Sep 2006 01:03:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1574772/posts WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2006 – In the old Star Wars movie "The Empire Strikes Back," Luke Skywalker gets a new, fully functional right hand after Darth Vader chops his off with a light saber. Today, thanks to work under way through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, servicemembers who have lost limbs in the line of duty could experience something almost as revolutionary in the years ahead. Among the cutting-edge technology DARPA is developing is a highly advanced, mechanical arm that works and looks just like a human one, Jan Walker, a DARPA spokesperson, told the American Forces Press Service.... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1574772/posts#comment Thu, 9 Feb 2006 01:09:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1516639/posts Imagine running 26.2 miles with a prosthetic leg, or navigating such a race in a wheelchair or a hand-crank chair. On Sunday, 35 servicemembers, wounded in the war on terror, were to compete in the New York City Marathon. These individuals traveled to the Big Apple from military hospitals across the United States to be part of the Achilles Track Club and the Wounded Warriors Project. Both programs work with the Walter Reed Rehabilitation Program, designed to improve the quality of life for recently wounded troops. “The whole rehabilitation model has been a sports model. The goal has been to... Stars and Stripes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1516639/posts#comment Sun, 6 Nov 2005 06:37:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1499884/posts WASHINGTON - (KRT) - They are the new bionic soldiers. Once given honorable discharges, amputees are regaining remarkable mobility with new prosthetics, and some are even choosing to return to the battlefield in Afghanistan and Iraq. U.S. troops who have lost one leg - or two - can walk, run and even swim with high-tech, computerized limbs. Arms and hands are replaced by prosthetics controlled by sensors that react to electronic impulses from undamaged muscles. The war in Iraq has claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 U.S. service members, but it has also drastically altered life for hundreds more who... MercuryNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1499884/posts#comment Mon, 10 Oct 2005 15:39:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1472185/posts Look out, Heather Mills McCartney! Female amputees are giving the gorgeous former model a run for her money with a new sexy, shapely leg created by a Wakefield man. Paul Harney has developed the LISA (Lightweight Inconspicuous Shapely Active) leg for amputees who want to wear high heels and don't want unsightly lines on their backsides - often caused by the prosthetic limb's edge. ``What women want is a functional, pretty leg. Women can wear a 2-inch heel with this leg and go barefoot,'' said Harney, owner of the FDR Center for Prosthetics and Orthotics, Inc., in Nashua, N.H. Olga... The Boston Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1472185/posts#comment Sun, 28 Aug 2005 06:41:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1471656/posts Iowa Man Walks Off Without Paying for Leg DES MOINES, Iowa - A man test-fitting a $17,000 artificial leg ran off without paying the bill, police said. Spectrum Prosthetics and Orthotics reported the theft of the specially designed leg this week. Police said the crime happened after the man came in on Aug. 19 to be fitted for the prosthetic. He "was allowed to take it for a couple hours to ensure that the fit was proper," a police report said. Sgt. David Murillo said the man didn't come back. Todd Schweizer, one of the owners of the company, said... AP/Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1471656/posts#comment Sat, 27 Aug 2005 02:00:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1467019/posts MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Aug. 18, 2005) -- To any casual observer visiting the F-11A pistol and battlesight zero range here, 1st Lt. Charles E. Hayter, a 26-year-old native of Billings, Mont., looks like any run-of-the-mill platoon commander… standing, watching over his Marines as they zero their rifles before they deploy to Iraq. A closer examination might reveal otherwise, but it would have to be a real close observation. The only telltale sign would be the tightness of one boot over the other and it’s rigid appearance, because inside that boot exists a prosthetic. Hayter, platoon commander for... Marine Corps News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1467019/posts#comment Sat, 20 Aug 2005 01:10:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1415606/posts A double-leg amputee and his high-tech prosthetics are blazing a trail into able-bodied sports. Will they be welcomed? The jaw-dropping performance of a teenage sprinter from South Africa named Oscar Pistorius is raising a question once barely imaginable: can a double-leg amputee run fast enough to qualify for the able-bodied Olympic Games? And if he did, would he be allowed to compete? Oddly enough, the first question may be easier to answer: "I have no doubt that Oscar will eventually run fast enough to compete in an able-bodied world championship," says U.S. sprinter Brian Frasure. "He could be ready to... IEEE Spectrum http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1415606/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jun 2005 09:30:39 GMT