The "Luke Arm"

I first heard about this project a few years ago when I saw Dean Kamen speak at a FIRST Robotics competition. FIRST is an organization founded by Kamen that helps to expose kids to science and technology through robotics. He spoke briefly about it and showed a video demonstrating one of their early prototypes. Ever since then I have had an interest in this project.



In 2005 the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Revolutionizing Prosthetics program awarded the Deka Research and Development Corporation with a contract to develop the new generation in prosthetic arms. The Deka Research and Development Corporation was founded and is headed by Dean Kamen, inventor of the portable dialysis machine and the Segway to name a few. After visiting a number of hospitals and talking with numerous amputees Kamen developed some ideas as to what they want in a prosthetic arm. The problem with current prosthetic arms is that they only offer the user a couple degrees of freedom, they can move the elbow, wrist, and open and close some variant of a hook.

Kamen's arm, called the "Luke Arm" after Luke Skywalker's bionic arm from Star Wars, is truly an engineering marvel. Kamen noticed that the natural human arm has twenty-two degrees of freedom, a lot more than the three offered by previous prosthetic models. His "Luke Arm" offers 18 degrees in order for it to have a more natural feel for the user. When users lift a heavy object for instance, the arm actually grips the body tighter allowing for more stability and control. The arm also solves the problem with the lack of sensory feedback in previous prosthetic limbs. Sensors on the fingers send signals to a vibrating motor which vibrates in turn with how much force is being applied to those sensors. This allows users to complete a wide variety of tasks, such as handling delicate objects or eating fruit.

The arm was designed to be totally non-invasive, meaning the user requires no operation or surgery in order to use the arm. Newer models of the arm are able to be controlled through a variety of different inputs such as nerves, muscles, and even foot pedals.

My first and main source of information was an online article from IEEE Spectrum, a science and technology magazine. This article was to the point and gave a lot of information on the arm itself and its development. The second source I found was a CBS 60 Minutes feature. You can tell that they targeted this information at a larger and more varied audience than my first source. While this still covered a lot of the technology and development of the arm it talks a lot more on the project as a whole and the people its going to help.

This is really a revolutionary development in the field of arm prosthetics. Obsolete, outdated technology needs to be replaced as we make new scientific developments and discoveries. These arms can give amputees back their freedom and help them to feel more human. With this development amputees can continue to live normal lives.


Sounces:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/10/60minutes/main4935509.shtml
http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/bionics/dean-kamens-luke-arm-prosthesis-readies-for-clinical-trials