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Last we heard from Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, it wanted a neurally-controlled bionic arm by 2009. Needless to say, the school overshot that goal by a tiny bit, and have now been beaten (twice) to the punch. But DARPA sees $34.5 million worth of p... romise in their third and final prototype, which will enable the nine pound kit (with 22 degrees of freedom and sensory feedback) to begin clinical trials. Rechristened the Modular Prosthetic Limb, it will be grafted onto as many as five real, live persons, the first within the year. Using the targeted muscle reinnervation technique pioneered at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, patients will control these arms directly with their thoughts, and for their sakes and the fate of humanity, hopefully not the other way around. Press release after the break.

Continue reading DARPA-funded prosthetic arm reaches phase three, would-be cyborgs celebrate

DARPA-funded prosthetic arm reaches phase three, would-be cyborgs celebrate originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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