Prosthetic News and Research

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Prosthetic (Prosthesis) devices, such as an artificial leg, that replace a part of the body. Prostheses are typically used to replace parts lost by injury (traumatic) or missing from birth (congenital) or to supplement defective body parts. Inside the body, artificial heart valves are in common use with artificial hearts and lungs seeing less common use but under active technology development. Other medical devices and aids that can be considered prosthetics include artificial eyes, palatal obturator, gastric bands, and dentures.

NIST study advances exoskeleton research

A shoddily tailored suit or a shrunken T-shirt may not be the most stylish, but wearing them is unlikely to hurt more than your reputation.

21 Aug 2020

Study shows lasting benefits of bone-anchored leg prostheses

After above-knee amputation, there is the option of a prosthesis that is placed directly in the thigh bone (osseointegration).

6 Aug 2020

New approach reduces power requirements of neural interfaces while improving accuracy

By tuning into a subset of brain waves, University of Michigan researchers have dramatically reduced the power requirements of neural interfaces while improving their accuracy--a discovery that could lead to long-lasting brain implants that can both treat neurological diseases and enable mind-controlled prosthetics and machines.

27 Jul 2020

Bacteriophages may play a key role in treating prosthetic joint infections

Bacteriophages, or phages, may play a significant role in treating complex bacterial infections in prosthetic joints, according to new Mayo Clinic research.

24 Jul 2020

Study shows spinal cord stimulators improve control of prosthetic hand

Imagine tying your shoes or taking a sip of coffee or cracking an egg but without any feeling in your hand.That's life for users of even the most advanced prosthetic arms.

21 Jul 2020

Fractured skulls, lost eyes: Police often break own rules using ‘rubber bullets’

Megan Matthews thought she was dying. "I thought my head was blown off," said Matthews, 22, who was hit in the eye with a sponge-tipped projectile fired by law enforcement at a May 29 protest in Denver. "Everything was dark. I couldn't see."

19 Jun 2020

Researchers examine how neurons represent the direction of a moving object during self-motion

Our brains use various reference frames--also known as coordinate systems--to represent the motion of objects in a scene.

15 Jun 2020

Research: Peptide makes older antibiotics effective again at doses 100 times lower than usual

A peptide renders older antibiotics effective again at doses 100 times lower than the common dosage, as shown by research from örebro University.

22 Apr 2020

Research could help stabilize and improve brain-computer interfaces

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have published research in Nature Biomedical Engineering that will drastically improve brain-computer interfaces and their ability to remain stabilized during use, greatly reducing or potentially eliminating the need to recalibrate these devices during or between experiments.

20 Apr 2020

Research will drastically stabilize brain-computer interfaces

Researchers have drastically improve brain-computer interfaces and their ability to remain stabilized during use.

20 Apr 2020

Researches implant ultrathin, flexible brain interfaces with long lifetimes

Researchers have demonstrated neural implantation of an ultrathin, flexible neural interface with thousands of electrodes.

8 Apr 2020

Researchers develop accurate and scalable method to record brain activity

A new method to accurately record brain activity at scale has been developed by researchers at the Crick, Stanford University and UCL.

20 Mar 2020

Transverse arch may play an important role in stiffness of the human foot

Walking and running subjects our feet to forces in excess of body weight. The longitudinal arch of the feet was thought to be the reason the feet do not deform under such load.

26 Feb 2020

Heart valve that grows with the child lowers the need for risky multiple heart surgeries

A breakthrough medical technology can save the lives of children with heart defects. Scientists have developed the first-ever heart valve that grows with the child, reducing the need for risky heart surgeries in the future.

20 Feb 2020

Mason researchers working to improve upper limb prosthetics

Siddhartha Sikdar, Professor, Bioengineering, Volgenau School of Engineering, Parag Chitnis, Assistant Professor, Bioengineering, and Guoqing Diao, Associate Professor, Statistics, are working to develop and evaluate a prototype prosthetic control system that uses wearable ultrasound imaging sensors to sense residual muscle activity rather than electromyography.

16 Feb 2020

New algorithms will lead to better prosthetics for upper limb amputees

Reaching for something on the top shelf in the grocery store or brushing one's teeth before bed are tasks many people can do without thinking. But doing these same tasks as an upper limb amputee, while using a prosthetic device, can require more mental effort.

22 Jan 2020

UK researchers develop first 3D-printed sensor-operated prosthetic arm for toddlers

The lightweight device with soft grip fingers uses an armband fitted with sensors to detect electrical signals naturally conducted by muscles. This enables the toddler to grip and pick up objects in much the same way as they would with a natural arm.

13 Jan 2020

New wireless, light-activated electrode advances neural stimulation

Neural stimulation is a pioneering technology that can be used to recover function and improve the quality of life for individuals who suffer from brain injury or disease.

9 Jan 2020

Scientists map the location of structural proteins in pig ovary for the first time

For the first time, scientists identified and mapped the location of structural proteins in a pig ovary. Ongoing development of an "ink" with these proteins will be used for 3-D printing an artificial (or bio-prosthetic) ovary that could be implanted and allow a woman to have a child.

6 Jan 2020

Radical procedures to treat oral infections are not necessary before stem cell transplantation

A recently published study indicates that oral infections seem to have no association with the risk of stem cell transplantation patients dying of or getting a serious infection within six months of the procedure.

3 Jan 2020