Changing the Face of Science

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Long ago men had to work together to perform many tasks needed for their survival and each man had to be healthy and able. When a group of men went to hunt for food not all returned. On one such occasion, a group of men layed an ambush for a herd of buffalo cows with one bull. The hunters ran the cows to the edge of a cliff and forced them to tumble to their deaths. Many cows had died; but, the bull was too witty. The bull turned and charged the group of hunters. As the lead hunter tuned on his heels to dodge the bull's attack, the bull collided with the hunter knocking him to the ground. Once upon the ground, the hunter was fair game for the bull. The bull charged again and hit the hunter in the right hip disabling the hunters ability to walk.

Before the bull could attack again the other hunters killed it hoping that their fellow man had not been seriously injured; but he had. The rest of the group left their comrade to die. They went to butcher and collect their kill.

While cleaning the meat, one of the young hunters spotted a long, strong branch on the ground with a v-notch shape at one end. He ran back to his friend. While having his friend stand against him he put the v-notch just under the arm-pit if his right arm. The branch had another broken limb near where his friend's hand was so that he could grasp it and use it to support himself so he could walk. It took many months for the hunter to perfect the technique of walking with the branch, but it had strengthened his chance for survival and saved his life. In that moment of compassion, the practice of developing assistive technology to help our fellow man had begun.

In 1974 we learned that Colonel Steve Austin an astronaut whose arm, legs and eye had been destroyed in an accident, he could be rebuilt. "We have the technology……." but can we rebuild a person as perfect as the television show’s Six Million Dollar Man? Today we are only beginning to understand the electro- mechanical nature of our bodies. The devices we know of today as miracles, helping the disabled in the future will be considered simple &clumsy attempts at giving mobility to the disabled and impaired.

"The development of a technology called BIONS (Bionic Neurons) has potential application in prosthetics. Bions are wireless electrical devices that can be implanted in muscles that require stimulation and at peripheral nerves. They are powered and controlled via radio waves from a small external controller that can be worn by the patient. Within a device the size of two grains of rice (2mm wideX15mm long) is an integrated circuit chip sandwiched inside an antenna coil. This can be injected under the skin to provide more than 1,000 connections between nerves and bionic devices….may require more that 1,000 connections between the brain and bionic devices to communicate the data for a complex action."

Welcome to the bionic age when man made devices can replace damaged limbs and organs. Already on the market are 100 percent mechanical hearts and corresponding parts, mechanical arms, legs, hands and cochlear implants that can benefit the nearly deaf.

In the near horizon there are bionic eyes that restore at least partial vision, cochlear implants that allow hearing despite a damaged auditory nerve, and computer chips that permit the brain to control bionic limbs. On the far horizon? Tissue engineering could make any thing possible. In development are artificial blood, organs and other body, including the liver, pancreas, bladder, tendons and spinal cord. In the field of pure bionics- the interface of human with machine-the focus has been on the heart, limbs, hands, and eyes. Not only do they lend themselves to medical adaptation, they are also among the body parts most in demand. An even more radical type of auditory prosthetics now under development, smokes hair- thin wires deep into the brain stem, linking it with and external speech process. But don’t expect to see it soon.

Functional neuromuscular stimulation systems are in experimental use in cases where spinal cord damage or a strain has severed the link between the brain and the peripheral nervous system. The system is controlled by switches, either triggered manually or through movement of some body part (an elbow or shoulder) that is still operational. These types of systems are likely to be used clinically one day to restore movement in legs, arms, and hands. Similar electrical stimulation schemes to restore bladder control and respiratory functions are also in experimental and even clinical use.

The ingeniously designed chip is placed in the path way of the surgically severed nerve. The regenerating nerve grows through a matrix of holes in the chip, while the regenerating tissue surrounding it anchors the device in place. Although this research is very prelimary and there are still many intimidating technical and biological hurdles (board signal processing, radio transmittability, learning how to translate neural communications) the long term future of this technology is exciting. Within a few decades “active” versions of these chips could provide a direct neural interface with prosthetic limbs, and by extension a direct human interface.

Very few of these technologies are in approved clinical use, and most of the will not be for a decade or more. One of the main frustrations for this research is finding (or developing) materials that are not toxic to the organism and that will not be degraded by the organism. The human body has formidable defenses against invading hardware. Many critics contend that neural implants are impractical at best if not downright irresponsible. These critics also state that implants are bioengineering marvels looking for a justifiable use, rather than appropriate technology for the disabled.

Is there a completely bionic man in our future? Doubtful say most bionic experts. Although technology has come a long way towards melding man and machine, it still has a long way to go. The major problem involves “tissue material interface”. Machines must have the ability to interface with the organ of perception, the brain.

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