As
The Washington Post reports, 26-year old Claudia Mitchell has become the fourth person and first woman to get outfitted with a bionic arm (well, besides Lindsay Wagner), with which she's able to perform functions simply by thinking about them. The arm was designed by researchers at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago -- who are part of a larger
project funded by DARPA -- and works by detecting the movement's of Mitchell's chest muscle, which has been rewired to the nerves that once served her left arm. Eventually, researchers say, the arm could even give Mitchell the sense of touch, with electrodes in the hand sending signals to her chest skin, which her brain would recognize as a sensation. This being part of a DARPA project though, we're sure they're also working on things they're not telling us, like crazy swinging grappling hook action.
[Thanks, Spluch]
posted Sep 14th 2006 11:36AM
Excellent article and comments about the first woman to get bionic arm.
http://www.1-satellite-tv-facts.com
So very cool, and so very creepy simultaneously. Long sleeved shirts, dear.
couldnt they have got her a black hand?
"Humans, we used to be just like them, flawed, weak, organic. But we evolved to include the synthetic, now we use both to achieve perfection." -Borg Queen.
Not too far off the mark eh? I just had no idea it would be so soon.
I for one, welcome our bionic overladies...
first order of business: break into someone's house and reenact the scene from T2 where ahnold cuts his arm open.
The picture reminds me of the movie "Virus".
If I ever lose an arm, I want it replaces with a rocket launcher that has a steel claw at the end.
GO GO GADGET ARM!!
I wonder when the first bitch slap with a bionic arm will take place.
When she moves does it goes daaa naaaaa naaaa daaa naaa naaa?
I want to know if there are any peripherals with this arm... Can you use your finger and thumb as a phone?
Am I the only one that finds this sexy? O_o
LOL "crazy swinging grappling hook action"..
but indeed give this woman a blach version of the hand, I don't think it really makes a difference on the total cost of this baby..
this is very very cool. kudos to DARPA
Slackers.
Not one mention of the "Kung-Fu Grip"?
Question: does the fact that she's a woman have anything to do with anything? Why must we differentiate her from men? What's the point?
This one I actually posted before you guys.
http://www.digitaldrops.com.br/drops/2006/09/a_mulher_bionica_ja_e_uma_real.html
Keep up the great work.
If you read the article they explain why it is significant that she is a woman. For the past three people they had to remove chest tissue to get the thing to work, but that would be particularly disfiguring for a women so this is the first one where they did not have to do that.
Although it's obvious we have a long way to go in the realm of medical technology, this is a great step forward.
Does it come with a camera and MP3 player?
I've wanted a bionic arm since I saw 'Heavy Metal' and 'Akira'
I think the time has come for me to cut my arm off. I will be sure to cross my severed limbs fingers in the hopes that I get a kickass bionic arm.
Is it water-proofed? LoL how does she take showers!?
My stomach just turned
I'm pretty sure I'd rather be without the arm... that thing is quite upsetting.
^^ What?!? Fool, bionic arms are cool not ugly. I would love to rock a prothestic if I lost a limb. (It'd be fun to hack too!)
I'm still trying to figure out why they would go through all the trouble and complications of grafting the severed nerves to the pectoralis instead of developing a "nerve cap" to detect the signals directly. I'd figure this would be a more direct and more functional solution.
I wonder if she crushes you when she strokes it...
@Ken, maybe you should develop these then instead of spewing it out on a website.
It is obvious that this is not her biological arm, so why do they insist on making it that damned band-aid "flesh" color. Make it chrome or black or something... ANYTHING but that revolting and insulting tan/peach/beige dreck.
To buZz: "no"
some of you guys have posted quite offencive comments, i bet for the woman who has lost a part of her body she is grateful with such an achievemnt. Obviously its not of any value but comedy for you people sitting there with your arms intact behind your little screens. Im ashamed for you. I have an uncle who has lost his entire arm in a working accident, and to be abelt to "feel again" or be able to take control of his prosthetic limb would have been a dream.
RANT NOVER
...and the first man will be Will Smith
"This being part of a DARPA project though, we're sure they're also working on things they're not telling us, like crazy swinging grappling hook action."
ROTFLMFAO.
I love the title:
First woman gets bionic arm.
Read: Eve gets a bionic arm
I guess that God smited (smitted? had been smitten?) her for eating that darn apple. So would this be a technological fig leaf?!
I'd tap that.
Glad it works for her. Honestly, I think its ugly. C'mon this is 2006 - THE FUTURE. We should all have jet cars, robot maids, robot pets, and flesh covered synthetic appendages. That arm should look real. Color me not impressed.
How long until tattoos for your bionic appendages?
Anyone remember "Innerspace" ? Two words and a hyphen...
Snap-on
And if anyone thinks I'm making fun of her I'm not. I'm making light of the situtation. There is a signifigant difference.
"Obviously its not of any value but comedy for you people sitting there with your arms intact behind your little screens."
I don't want to speak on behalf of all comedians here at engadget comment central, but I myself have a rather large screen. All 15" to be precise! Grow up, buy your uncle a new arm, and move on.
/going straight to hell
//anyone want to carpool?
Eli, you WANTED a bionic arm after watching Akira? I watched it today, right before reading this article... my bionic arm dreams came to their greatest decline and fruition on the same day.
It had better have enough USB 2.0 ports. And bluetooth.
Well i'll be that is quite the bionic wonder if she can smash aluminum cans with it?
DARPA does bionic arm again. There is surely stuff going on you do not know about. I heeard from one of their docs last week about the leg version on 2 soldiers in Iraq still not openly reported by them. http://docinthemachine.com/archives/12
i would be scared that i would wake up and it was killing me