Bionics and Prosthetics In all of the scientific accomplishments this world has produced, one of the most miraculous is the innovation of prosthetic limbs. From the time of the ancient pyramids man has been able to fashion limbs for those missing them. These practices have been used to better the lives of those injured in accidents and that of wounded veterans. The advancements of these devices has been nothing short of miraculous. These devices started in order for those injured in war to be able to return to battle. In 218 B.C, a Roman General in the second Punic War lost his hand and had a bronze one made in order to hold his shield and return to battle. No other important advancements were made until the 1500s when German mercenary …show more content…
During the times of the ancient periods and beyond they were used to return to the battlefield after injury, but today they are used to help our heroes live their lives to the fullest. For example, when a roadside bomb went off in Afghanistan, a soldier woke up in hospital in Germany badly injured. After months of excruciating pain and surgeries, he lost his arms and legs. Since then he has had prosthetics made for him. He has participated in a New York 5k and has wrote a book and is touring with it. He says his success is due to “Amazing advancements in Prosthetics.” This is just one of the many miraculous stories of veterans being helped by prosthetics. (With technology and determination) I do understand that some people may not be fully in support of prosthetics and bionics. Some people make the argument that prosthetics and bionic could possibly give an athlete a strict advantage over other athletes. Some argue that the use of these devices is unethical and that one should not try to fix what they cannot control. I understand the viewpoint of these people but I also believe that everyone should have the opportunity to live a normal life, despite the circumstances. (More on the Ethics of …show more content…
2007, https://www.amputee-coalition.org/resources/a-brief-history-of-prosthetics/. Accessed 5 Dec. 2017. "Real Stories | Real Life Prosthetics." http://www.reallifeprosthetics.com/real-stories. Accessed 5 Dec. "With technology and determination, war veteran who lost his arms ...." 27 Oct. 2015, http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/10/27/with-technology-and-determination-war-veteran-who-lost-his-arms-legs-gets-his-life-back.html. Accessed 6 Dec. 2017.
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Resection was a process that “involved cutting open the limb, sawing out the damaged bone, and then closing the incision” (Jones, 1). Resection allows the patient to keep his limbs but it requires a great ordeal of time and skill. This also contributed to the common practice of amputation during the war. But there were cases where surgeons did use this method. Terry J. Jones said in his NY Times article, “resections were used more frequently after surgeons learned that amputations had a much higher mortality rate” (Jones, 1). In another article by Corydon Ireland, it describes Mitchell Adam’s, a Harvard lecturer, grandfather who served as a volunteer surgeon during the Civil War. In the article, “Adams was not a champion of hasty amputations, but argued for excision and other limb-saving measures. And he describes the everyday pressures of a country practice in Framingham, Mass” (Ireland, 1). This meant that not all surgeons at the time only wanted to amputate but strived for alternate methods. This new knowledge shows that some surgeons were more dedicated to thinking about the well-being of their patients than others and this opens up to other possibilities that may have occurred during the war. This allows an image to come to mind of a surgeon diligently operating on a soldier with care and compassion. However, even though there may be many possibilities, we can’t truly know every event that occurs during a
Organisms are limited by the structure of their bodies. Some creatures are capable to do great things because of the number of limbs they have, or the density of their skin. Humans in particular are extremely reliant in the capabilities that our bodies bring to us. Our bodies however, are not all dependable, as we can injure ourselves, and even lose parts of our body. To combat this loss of body, the great minds of our species have created false limbs to replace what we have lost. This great improvement to our lives is known as, the prosthetic. In recent years this technology has expanded into a new form, that combines prosthetics and robotics to make life for people
If your body was ninety percent artificial, would you still count yourself as human? The character Jenna Fox from the book The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson might have the answer. Jenna is a seventeen year old girl recovering from a traumatic accident, whose body has been replaced almost completely with prosthetics. In Jenna’s world, a limit is put on the amount of prosthetics one can receive, and Jenna has far surpassed it. Following her accident, her parents decided that the only way to save Jenna was to use an illegal amount of prosthetics on her. Their choice did not come without consequences however, as it heavily affected them and others around them, especially Jenna. The most important choice in the book was made by Jenna’s
...has put these people there for a reason. You always think your problems are bad until you go and see others. These doctors make it possible for children to have all of their limbs. We have been blessed by this hospital.” (Rudder).
The use of bioethics to alter one’s physical and mental happiness is portrayed as deceitful to many. This critical analysis evaluates an essay that pledges justification for self-improvement as morally right. The essay, “Bioengineering and Self-Improvement,” was written by Arthur Caplan, professor of bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Center for Bioethics. As presented in the essay, the author supports using technology in improving one’s vigor and appearance. In fact, he declares that bioengineering improves one’s self through boosting confidence and self-respect.
One guy named Fox takes care of injured birds. One bird in particular called a sand crane would regularly injure its frail legs. Without their legs cranes cannot survive. Fox finally decided he put down enough cranes, and he started working on a prosthetic leg for the crane. The first crane to receive a plastic leg walked around as if it were her real leg (Anthes 137). The crane went from on the verge of dying to walking around naturally with a prosthetic. The crane now can live a longer healthy life, rather than dying well before its life expectancy. Cranes sometimes scratch themselves with the plastic leg as they would with their real legs. Prosthetics possess a wide range of capabilities that have the ability to help several different animals from dolphins to small fragile
The purpose of this prosthetic limb is to help people who have lost a hand or arm in any type of accident like Les Baugh. He one of the patients currently outgoing testing with the prosthetic limb. He lost both of his arms at a electrical accident a young age and the prosthetic he using are attached to the end of his shoulders, since the accident cut his arms right to that section. He underwent surgery in order to remap the nerves
His aim was to in-crease amputees’ confidence in the use of their prosthetics and their mental attitude. He recruited 100 volunteer amputees and put them through the programme. The results sug-gested that he achieved his aim he noted improvements in the physical and mental well-being of the volunteers. They also gained confidence in using their prosthetic which aided their recovery. Their mental well-being was particularly important as it was noted that a positive mental attitude and acceptance of the prosthetic resulted in a quicker recovery time (Dillingham, T.R., 1998).
Although nothing can ever fully replace any part of our bodies, most people who have suffered the loss of a body part or who were born missing something that everyone else has and needs—like a foot or a hand—would agree that something is usually better than nothing. People have used all sorts of artificial devices probably from the beginnings of human history to help them compensate for the loss of a limb. Thus in very ancient times, the first and simplest prosthesis may have been a forked tree limb that was used as a crutch to help someone walk whose leg may have been badly damaged or lost in an accident or to a disease.
He infers this by saying, “I sat in bed and inspected the exegesis. I really needed tools to take it apart… I still found it surprising that this was as good as it got” (Barry 30). Describing it further as a bucket on a stick, feeling very wrong, and squeezing his leg so hard it feels as if all his stitches have popped (Barry 30-32). Lola Shanks, a prosthetist, assisted Charlie when learning how to use the leg. Mr. Shanks, Lola’s father, being an amputee of various limbs gives Lola the most experience in the field. Although she has the largest experience with prosthetics in the entirety of the book, the study of prosthetics is such a tiny department compared to the cancer research department, there are few options for artificial legs, arms, et cetera. In a case study in the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics, “Researchers have concluded…they are useful for determining the type of interventions used in rehabilitation, but that it may not accurately assess the true function of the individuals within the community” (Staubach and Sutton). Meaning although those prosthetics can be useful in rehab, once the patient is back into reality they might not be the best option. In light of this Charlie proceeds to create a leg that does suit amputees in the real world. Once Lola sees what Charlie had invented mechanically engineered legs, she sees this as a world of
Johnson, Mike. "Veteran's New Artificial Leg Has Artificial Intelligence." Veteran's New Artificial Leg Has Artificial Intelligence. Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2007. Web.
The war destroyed and put an end man's life. It destroyed people in physical and even the emotional. These soldiers with major injuries will hold them all back from what they love to do most and what they w...
The two controversial topics discussed below share a single goal: to enhance the quality of life of a human individual. The first topic, transhumanism, is a largely theoretical movement that involves the advancement of the human body through scientific augmentations of existing human systems. This includes a wide variety of applications, such as neuropharmacology to enhance the function of the human brain, biomechanical interfaces to allow the human muscles to vastly out-perform their unmodified colleagues, and numerous attempts to greatly extend, perhaps indefinitely, the human lifespan. While transhumanist discussion is predominantly a thinking exercise, it brings up many important ethical dilemmas that may face human society much sooner than the advancements transhumanism desires to bring into reality. The second topic, elective removal of healthy limbs at the request of the patient, carries much more immediate gravity. Sufferers of a mental condition known as Body Integrity Identity Disorder seek to put to rest the disturbing disconnect between their internal body image and their external body composition. This issue is often clouded by sensationalism and controversy in the media, and is therefore rarely discussed in a productive manner (Bridy). This lack of discussion halts progress and potentially limits citizens' rights, as legislation is enacted without sufficient research. The primary arguments against each topic are surprisingly similar; an expansion on both transhumanism and elective amputation follows, along with a discussion of the merit of those arguments. The reader will see how limits placed on both transhumanism and elective amputation cause more harm to whole of human society than good.
Muller, S. (2009). Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) – is the amputation of healthy limbs ethically justified? The American Journal of Bioethics-Neuroscience, 9, 36-43.
Prosthetic limbs, one of the examples of physical enhancement, have improved to such an extent that the capabilities and...