A Glance at the Present State of Limb Prosthetics

The body is a life support system, carriage, and collection of useful accessories for the brain. Insofar as you as an individual are concerned, you are your brain. The rest of the body is only indispensable because we don't have other ways to provide the same capabilities. That will change, though likely not in any easily predicted way: the decades ahead are a time of great uncertainty in technological details because the pace of change is so rapid. Small differences in research today are magnified over the years leading up to future applications of that science. We might set out to draw a smooth line of progression between today's prosthetics - artificial limbs with simple nervous system interfaces, bioartificial dialysis devices, vision substitutes for the blind via implanted electrode grids, and so forth - and the integrated artificial brain carriage of tomorrow, a collection of technologies and capabilities that will bear roughly the same relationship to the natural human body and biological systems as a car bears to a horse. Some people, such as those involved in the 2045 Initiative see this as a goal to be pursed more aggressively and directly than is presently the case. But I suspect that the line will be anything but smooth and direct. Prosthetics are just one approach to tackling the results of disability, disease, and the damage of aging, after all. If the goal is function where function is lost, then prosthetics are in competition with regenerative medicine. The t...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs