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.

FDA approves first implant system for adults who have above-the-knee amputations

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the Osseoanchored Prostheses for the Rehabilitation of Amputees (OPRA) Implant System, the first implant system marketed in the U.S. for adults who have transfemoral—or above-the-knee—amputations and who have or are anticipated to have rehabilitation problems with, or cannot use, a conventional socket prosthesis.

18 Dec 2020

Antifungal drug improves key biomarkers in the noses of patients with cystic fibrosis

A drug widely used to treat fungal infections improved key biomarkers in lung tissue cultures as well as in the noses of patients with cystic fibrosis, a clinical study by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Iowa found.

17 Dec 2020

Sensory stimulation improves perception of phantom limbs, leads to better muscle movement

A significant amount of research and development has gone into creating sophisticated prosthetic limbs and learning how to effectively control them.

8 Dec 2020

Patients' own stem cells can be used to grow new bones, study shows

A new, groundbreaking study from the University of Bergen shows that a patients' own stem cells can be used to grow new bone.

16 Nov 2020

Researchers develop low-cost, customizable, self-locking upper limb prosthesis

Upper limb forequarter amputations which involve the removal of the entire arm and scapula require highly customized prosthetic devices that are expensive but yet, usually underutilized due to their high maintenance and low comfort levels.

27 Oct 2020

Scientists engineer tissue grafts for personalized joint replacement

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which forms the back portion of the lower jaw and connects your jaw to your skull, is an anatomically complex and highly loaded structure consisting of cartilage and bone.

14 Oct 2020

Researchers examine different brands of impression materials for border molding in denture fabrication

An edentulous jaw is a condition where either the upper (maxilla) or the lower (mandible) jaw is missing all teeth. In medical practice, it could be treated by placement of a complete denture.

7 Oct 2020

Study reports a drop in Medicare reimbursement rates for orthopedic trauma surgery

The amount Medicare reimburses for orthopedic trauma surgery has fallen by nearly one-third over the past two decades, reports a study in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma.

21 Sep 2020

First 'plug and play' brain prosthesis demonstrated in a person with paralysis

In a significant advance, UC San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences researchers working towards a brain-controlled prosthetic limb have shown that machine learning techniques helped an individual with paralysis learn to control a computer cursor using their brain activity without requiring extensive daily retraining, which has been a requirement of all past brain-computer interface efforts.

7 Sep 2020

Prosthetic breast reconstruction outcomes do not deteriorate over time, shows study

Breast reconstruction is an important option for women undergoing mastectomy, and a two-stage approach using implants is by far the most common reconstruction technique.

28 Aug 2020

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.