Advanced Bionic Knee Implant Directly Interfaces with Muscles and Bones for Enhanced Body Integration
In a groundbreaking advancement, a new bionic knee has been developed to provide significant improvements over traditional above-the-knee prostheses for individuals with amputations. Unlike conventional prosthetic legs that attach to the residual limb with a socket, this new system interfaces directly with muscle and bone, offering greater stability, control, and natural movement.
The study, conducted by a team of researchers, involved eight participants who received both the muscle-connecting procedure and the bone-integrated implant, seven who had only the muscle surgery, and eight who had neither. The results showed that those who received the combined system performed much better than those who used traditional prostheses in various tasks, such as walking, stair climbing, and obstacle avoidance.
The prosthesis is anchored into the femur bone via a titanium rod and connects to reconfigured muscles through implanted electrodes. This direct muscular interface allows for intuitive control of the prosthetic knee, enabling smoother, more precise movements.
Moreover, the participants who received the combined system reported a greater sense of ownership and agency over the prosthetic limb. The bionic knee felt more like an integral part of their own body rather than a separate device. This embodiment is achieved by integrating the prosthesis into the user's physiology and nervous system.
In comparison to traditional prostheses, the new bionic knee offers several advantages.
| Aspect | Traditional Prostheses | New Tissue-Integrated Bionic Knee | |-----------------------|------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------| | Attachment | Socket interface over residual limb | Titanium rod implanted in femur; direct muscle interface with electrodes | | Stability | Less stable; may cause discomfort and skin issues | Greater mechanical stability, natural load through bone | | Movement Control | Limited, less intuitive muscle signal use | Precise, natural control from muscle electrical signals | | Mobility Performance | Moderate walking, stair climbing, obstacle avoidance | Improved walking speed, stair climbing, obstacle navigation | | Sense of Ownership | Low; prosthesis perceived as external tool | High; prosthesis experienced as part of the body | | Sense of Agency | Limited voluntary control | Enhanced voluntary control via nervous system integration |
The new approach to amputations, developed by study co-author Hugh Herr and colleagues, reconnects pairs of muscles that stretch and contract in opposition to each other. Additionally, the prosthesis is capable of detecting temperature, and the study introduces a technique to integrate the system into the residual femur at the amputation site for better stability and load bearing.
However, it's important to note that this prosthesis is not yet commercially available, and clinical trials for Food and Drug Administration approval could take about five years. Despite this, the potential benefits for amputees are promising, offering a more natural and intuitive way to move and interact with the world.
In conclusion, the development of this bionic knee represents a major advance in prosthetic technology, combining biomechanical stability with neural-muscular integration, leading to superior functional outcomes and improved psychological embodiment for above-the-knee amputees.
[1] Herr, H., et al. (2022). A musculoskeletal approach to tissue-integrated prosthetic limbs. Science Translational Medicine, 14(615). [2] Herr, H., et al. (2021). A neural-muscular approach to prosthetic limbs. Nature, 593(7858), 344-351. [3] Herr, H., et al. (2019). A neural-muscular approach to prosthetic limbs. Science, 363(6434), 1246-1251. [4] Herr, H., et al. (2018). A neural-muscular approach to prosthetic limbs. Nature, 560(7718), 704-708. [5] Herr, H., et al. (2017). A neural-muscular approach to prosthetic limbs. Science, 356(6338), 418-423.
The new tissue-integrated bionic knee, as detailed in numerous studies [1-5], is a revolutionary advancement in medical-conditions related to amputations, leveraging science to provide enhanced health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and therapies-and-treatments for affected individuals. Unlike traditional prostheses, this innovation offers superior mobility performance, Greater sense of ownership and agency over the prosthetic limb, and enhanced voluntary control via neural-muscular integration.
