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Showing posts from September 28, 2019

The Luke Arm: How Star Wars Inspired the Prosthetic Arm of the Future

The history of prosthetics is a long and oftentimes curious testament to the creativity and resilience of humanity. We first find records of them around the year 1500BC when Egyptians took it upon themselves to craft fiber-based prosthetics, some of which are even thought to have been functional. Since then, the history of prosthetics has moved from semi-functional fiber to solely aesthetic metal limbs, to legs made out of various materials attached to harnesses that allowed limited movement, passing through the well-known peg legs and hooks. Post-World War II heavy investment and technology innovations have produced radical improvements that have made prosthetics more functional, comfortable, and realistic. Researchers have struggled with providing prosthetics with a sense of touch, but not anymore. Over the past fifteen years, a biomedical engineering team at the University of Utah have developed a prosthetic arm that allows users to feel what they are touching inspired by ...