Did you know that the oldest known prosthesis was found in an Egyptian mummy from more than 3,000 years ago?
It was a wooden toe, carefully crafted and attached with leather straps. This remarkable artifact shows that the human need to regain lost dexterity is as old as civilization.
The history of prostheses is a tale of human ingenuity, determination and constant striving to overcome the limitations of the body. From ancient simple designs, to medieval iron hands of knights, to today’s bionic wonders, each era has brought something new to this fascinating field.
The turning point in the history of prostheses was the Renaissance era. That’s when Ambroise Paré, a French military surgeon, designed the first more functional prosthetic limbs, used especially by war veterans. Wars often became the catalyst for advances in prostheses. The First and Second World Wars brought a huge leap in technology – the advent of lightweight materials, such as aluminum, and the development of surgical techniques made it possible to create more comfortable and functional prostheses.
The real revolution came with the computer age. In the 1960s, the first myoelectrically controlled prostheses appeared, which used electrical signals from muscles to control movement. This paved the way for today’s advanced bionic prostheses.
Today, a team from Wroclaw University of Technology is working on a prosthesis that not only recreates the functions of a lost limb, but also learns and adapts to the user thanks to artificial intelligence. This is another step in the long history of man’s quest to overcome his own limitations.
Source: https://pwr.edu.pl/uczelnia/aktualnosci/bioniczna-proteza-reki-pomoze-pacjentom-po-amputacji-13465.html
Polish project
Dr. Andrzej Wolczowski, himself an amputee, along with a team of scientists from Wroclaw University of Technology, is spearheading a project that could change the lives of thousands of people [1].
What makes this prosthesis so unique? First of all, it is “skillful” – literally and figuratively. Thanks to sensors in its fingertips, it can sense what it is grasping and adjust the strength of its grip [1]. Imagine being able to lift both a delicate egg and a heavy hammer without worrying about destroying the object or dropping it.
But that’s not all. This prosthesis has something that others don’t – the ability to learn. Using artificial intelligence, it analyzes the signals sent by the user’s muscles and translates them into movements. Over time, it becomes more precise and customized. It’s like having a personal trainer who constantly helps you improve your technique.
Dr. Ing. Pawel Trajdos, one of the key members of the team, emphasizes that every user is different, and the prosthesis must adapt to that [1]. It’s like learning a new language – the prosthesis learns the “speech” of its owner’s muscles, and the owner learns how to most effectively communicate his or her intentions to the prosthesis.
The project is scheduled to end in 2025, but is already generating a lot of interest. Hand amputees interested in participating in the study are asked to contact the project manager Dr. Andrzej Wolczowski [2]. This is not only a chance to regain fitness, but also to participate in a real technological revolution.
Who knows what the future will bring? Maybe in a few decades we will look at today’s bionic prostheses the way we look at the wooden fingers of the past today – with admiration for the ingenuity of our ancestors, but also with an awareness of how far we have come.
Bibliography:
[1] Ministry of Science and Higher Education, A bionic prosthetic hand is being created at Wrocław University of Technology, https://www.gov.pl/web/nauka/na-politechnice-wroclawskiej-powstaje-bioniczna-proteza-reki
[2] Wroclaw University of Technology, Bionic prosthetic hand will help amputee patients, https://pwr.edu.pl/uczelnia/aktualnosci/bioniczna-proteza-reki-pomoze-pacjentom-po-amputacji-13465.html