Bionic Limbs

824 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The advantages of technology in sport

Great ideas and inventions are a part of everyday life. Without inventions there would be no new ideas that could help better the future. All it takes is some imagination and a little bit of science to make the world an enhanced place. True, there are times when the science can get out of hand, and then people get crazy and become scared. Then again, there are also times when scientists have amazing breakthroughs and they tell the world about them. Science can either go one way or the other; it is either a very good thing or the worst idea someone has ever had.
Bionics, or sometimes called bionical creativity engineering, is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology (“Bionics” n.p.). It is a mechanical prosthetic that is hooked onto a set of nerves, depending where it is placed, that retrieve signals from the brain to the limb. Bionic limbs give amputees a new feeling of living a more natural and normal life.
Cochlear implants (Baker & Sarpeshkar n.p.), or bionic ears, give a sense of sound to people who are partially deaf or hard of hearing. It picks up sound from the environment with one or two microphones. After picking up the sound, a speech processor sifts through the noises to pick out the audible speech. On the external of the ear, there is a transmitter that spreads the power and processed signals across the skins into the internal part of the device. A receiver and stimulator convert the signals into electric pulses, sending them through an internal cable to electrodes. Then an array of about 22 electrodes send signals to the brain making it audible speech (“Cochlear Implants” n.p.). The implants act as a substitute for ...

... middle of paper ...

...ints in Context. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
"Bionics." Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bionics. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2014.
"Cochlear Implant." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
"The Future of Prosthetics Could Be This Brain-Controlled Bionic Leg | Design | WIRED." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 13 Oct. 0013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Moulton, Simon, Dr. "BIONICS IN SPORT." Nanotechnology in Bionic Research. Intelligent Polymer Research Institute University of Wollongong, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
"Technology and the Human Hand: The State of the Art in Artificial Hands, Hooks, and Prehensors." InMotion: Technology and the Human Hand: The State of the Art in the Artificial Hands, Hooks, and Prehensors. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
"Titan Arm: Bionic bicep gives you the strength of Hercules." CNN Wire 25 Oct. 2013.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • The Case Against Perfection by Michael Sandel

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sandel explores the immoral nature of genetic enhancements through their potential use in athletics, creating “Bionic Athletes.” The world admires athletes for their expression of great skill in their resp...

    Read More

  • advances in Prosthetics

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    The skin technologies that have recently been created are astonishing. The remarkable breakthrough has made a huge advance in technology happen. Muscle and nerve control operation is when electrodes are permanently implanted into the nerves and muscles allowing the amputees limb to have total direct control. With this new muscle to nerve action

    Read More

  • Prosthetics Research Paper

    256 Words  | 1 Pages

    Prosthetics (pronounced prahs-THEH-tiks) is the branch of medicine that deals with the artificial replacement of a missing body part. A prosthesis (pronounced prahs-THEE-sis) is the general term for the artificial part itself that replaces the body part usually lost to disease or injury. Prosthetics has a long history, and recent design advances that use battery power and new lightweight composite materials are making prostheses better and easier to use.

    Read More

  • Playing God: The Effects of Genetic Engineering in Society

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    When it comes to athletes and their sport, drugs and genetic fixes diminish achievement. The more an athlete relies on drugs and genetic engineering, the more difficult it is to respect his/her achievements. Sandel presents a scenario. Imagine a robotic baseb...

    Read More

  • Ethical Ethics Of Prosthetics

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    As human technology develops it is a potentiality that the use of prosthetic limbs may become more advanced that the real human limb giving people the edge on sports fields and in the workforce. An imbalance between prosthetics and human limbs may become present as people may willingly have their limbs replaced by a robotic or part biological counterpart.

    Read More

  • Prosthetic Limbs Limitations

    1958 Words  | 4 Pages

    Prosthetic limbs are an invention which have both come from the mind of people in the medical profession treating amputees but also from amputees themselves who recognise the need for technical advances and use of new materials as well as specialisation of design (Norton, 2007; Park, 2015).

    Read More

  • Ethical Assessment of Implantable Brain Chips

    3172 Words  | 7 Pages

    Worldwide there are at least three million people living with artificial implants. In particular, research on the cochlear implant and retinal vision have furthered the development of interfaces between neural tissues and silicon substrate micro probes. The cochlear implant, which directly stimulates the auditory nerve, enables over 10,000 totally deaf people to hear sound; the retinal implantable chip for prosthetic vision may restore vision to the blind. Research on prosthetic vision has proceeded along two paths: 1) retinal implants, which avoid brain surgery and link a camera in eyeglass frames via laser diodes to a healthy optic nerve and nerves to the retina, and 2) cortical implants, which require brain surgery and the pneumatic insertion of electrodesinto the brain to penetrate the visual cortex and produce highly localized stimulation.

    Read More

  • Prosthetic Limb Essay

    387 Words  | 1 Pages

    I picked an article on the prosthetic limbs, which are controlled by your own thought. The unique part of this prosthetic is that It has 26 joints, is controlled by the person’s own mind and has the power to curl up to a incredible 45 pounds. Imagine being able to control a prosthetic just by thinking about the next move. The limb has been described as Modular, which gives them the power to accommodate anyone in particular that has either the hand missing to the whole entire arm. It can be also used as a surrogate arm for those who have suffered a stroke and lost movement of their own arm. This just an incredible part of science that getting develop and study by John Hopkins University.

    Read More

  • College Admissions Essay: Man of the Year

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    Like the silence before a sneeze, a hush falls over the crowd before a riotous cheer fills the air. I stand up and my legs begin to carry me toward the stage as the announcer continues, "Many of you may not know Mr. Cosby, but he has made remarkable advances in the realm of biotechnology. He has received this award for his development of a revolutionary prosthetic limb repair system that can replace not only a lost appendage, but synthesize the lost nerves, creating a new fully functional arm or leg."

    Read More

  • Physical Therapy in the 21st Century: Why are we doing this?

    1770 Words  | 4 Pages

    3. Waldrop, S.; Wojciechowski, M. The “bionic” warrior: advances in prosthetics, technology, and rehabilitation. PT Mag Phys Ther. April 2007;15(4): 60-66.

    Read More

  • The Replacement of Amputated Limb by a Prosthetic Limb

    2025 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ur brain. They have already made huge improvements in this area of prosthetics by creating some that can be controlled by the brain, but they aren’t used over a mass amount of people. In order to reach these goals we have to supply funding to the prosthetic and orthotic companies. Some are still using techniques that have been around for decades. In order for the field of prosthetics to advance in this world steps have to be taken in educating people in the new technology. I personally hope that in my lifetime I will be able to see prosthetics grow to what it can be in helping everyone, not just the people who can afford. This also means that we need to not just make prosthetics that work, but that have the patients comfort in mind. Overall prosthetics should be available to everyone and anyone, and the use of the CAD/CAM technology should be able to take us there.

    Read More

  • Prosthetic Limbs In Sports

    1652 Words  | 4 Pages

    Prosthetic limbs have been in use for thousands of years and have become more and more technologically advanced. Historically, prosthetic limbs have been awkward, uncomfortable, and merely a means of alleviating some of the problems that came with the loss of an arm or a leg (Bidlack), but as science behind prosthetic limbs advances, as do their capabilities to perform like normal limbs would and perform tasks previously unachievable by amputees. With technological advancements, questions arise regarding whether or not prosthetic limbs are actually better and more efficient than our own human bodies. As concerns grow, so does the controversy surrounding the participation of amputee athletes in professional sports sanctioned for able-bodied

    Read More

  • Biomechatronics

    1676 Words  | 4 Pages

    Guinnessy, Paul. Sept 2006. 'DARPA joins industry, academia to build better prosthetic arms' Physics Today p. 24-25.

    Read More

  • My Personal Story on the Challenge of Being Deaf

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Then, when I was three years old, I had surgery to get a cochlear implant at the University of Minnesota. A cochlear implant is a small device which bypasses the damaged parts of the ear and directly stimulates the auditory nerve. Signals generated by the implant are sent by the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes t...

    Read More

  • Human Microchip Implants

    2320 Words  | 5 Pages

    "Microchip Implants Closer to reality." The Futurist. 33.8 (1999): 9. Proquest Platinum. Proquest Information and Learning Co. Glenwood High School Lib., Chatham, IL 25 Oct. 2004

    Read More

More about Bionic Limbs

Open Document