If engineering can already give people limbs and teeth and feet and organs, what could it do in the near future? Will it be possible to regrow the lost limbs? Will prosthetics seamlessly fit with the user’s body? All of these are just ideas, but in different ways they could all work.
Researchers in the bioengineering field are looking at using stem cells to encourage regrowth. Controlling the process of limb regeneration is a complex system and likely won’t be achieved in the next few years, but there have been advances in the field which prove it could be a potential alternative to prosthetics in the future. Scientists and engineers have come up with a process that includes engineering 3D scaffolding to provide a model of the patient’s own stem cells, to grow into functional tissue. If this stem cell process works, then doctors could put the new regenerative stem cells into the residual limb, and if engineered correctly, the limb would grow back into the place of the old one. Alternatively, scientists and doctors could grow the limbs in controlled environments and later attach it to the patient.
One way scientists could monitor growth and stimulate tissue regeneration of the new limb is through bio-integrated electronics, such as flexible, bioresorbable technology. Bioresorbable materials are used in medical implants, and eventually break down into harmless components within the body.
Some biomedical engineers are looking into ways to connect prosthetic devices to a patient’s brain’s motor complex — the part of the brain that consists of the primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, and the premotor cortex, and controls voluntary muscle movements. One way engineers are trying to synchronize the motor cortex with prosthetic devices is through electrodes — conductors used to create an electrical contact with a non-metallic area of a circuit, letting current flow in or out of a system. The electrodes implanted into the patient’s motor cortex would direct the maneuvers and actions of a prosthetic limb.
In my last column, I talked about how the nervous system could be connected to a patient’s prosthesis, but the patient would still be missing proprioception, which is the feeling of one’s body position and movement. Advanced technology is now allowing engineers to put this technology into prosthetic limbs, almost giving amputees the complete feeling they once had with their limbs.
AI algorithms are being developed that would decipher signals sent from a person’s muscles or nerves. This means the AI could in fact make it so the patient could have a faster recovery and a quicker way of mastering use of their prosthesis. These AI prosthetics can also learn from the users over time to help with activities, such as rock climbing, that might need more attention and support from limbs.
So there is technology being developed by very qualified scientists, engineers, and doctors that could enhance how useful and how “normal” a prosthesis can feel. These technologies might take a while to manufacture but they are certainly within an artificial arm’s reach.