Blaze

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From the article: A brain-controlled bionic leg has allowed people with amputations to walk more quickly and navigate stairs and obstacles more easily in a groundbreaking trial.

The device allows the wearer to flex, point and rotate the foot of the prosthetic using their thoughts alone. This led to a more natural gait, improved stability on stairs and uneven terrain and a 41% increase in speed compared with a traditional prosthetic. The bionic leg works by reading activity in the patient’s residual leg muscles and uses these signals to control an electrically powered ankle.

“No one has been able to show this level of brain control that produces a natural gait, where the human’s nervous system is controlling the movement, not a robotic control algorithm,” said Prof Hugh Herr, a co-director of the K Lisa Yang Center for Bionics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the senior author of the study.

“Not only will they be able to walk on a flat surface, but they’ll be able to go hiking or dancing because they’ll have full control over their movement,” he added.

Herr is himself a double amputee, having lost both legs to severe frostbite after being caught in a blizzard during a rock climbing trip in 1982. Despite having his original amputations decades ago, he hopes to have revision surgery to be able to benefit from a pair of similar bionic legs in the future.

“I’m thinking of doing that for both of my legs in the coming years,” he said.

In the trial, published in Nature Medicine, seven patients were given the bionic leg and compared with seven patients with traditional amputations. Patients reported less pain and less muscle atrophy following the pioneering surgery required for control of the bionic leg, which preserves natural connections between leg muscles. The patients were also more likely to feel that their prosthetic limb was part of their body.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jul/01/bionic-leg-walking-quicker-easier-amputees-trial

[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 5 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I was intrigued too, it's literally the number of time per day I start a washing machine. The washing machine is set for a maximum of 8 kg ~ 17 lb per load

 

!dataisbeautiful@mander.xyz

 
 

[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 2 points 11 months ago

Late answer, but https://quiblr.com/ can be used for a curated feed for Lemmy

Announcement from a month ago: https://lemmy.ca/post/22440619?scrollToComments=true

[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 4 points 11 months ago

Saw the trailer, seems very cool

[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Hello,

Stumbled here from All, just wanted to say well done!

Feel free to join us on !fedigrow@lemm.ee if you want to discuss how to grow communities!

[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 2 points 11 months ago
[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Contrast with Spain's game yesterday is baffling (I'm talking for both of today's games)

[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Happy cake day!

[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 9 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Nice banter

[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 2 points 11 months ago

Interesting. Also, you didn't answer me yesterday: do you want to post the match threads tomorrow so that they are closer to the kick off time?

[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 2 points 11 months ago (7 children)

Is nobody watching?

[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 3 points 11 months ago

I do 1-2 posts a week on each of those, I’ll be better off than trying to keep communities going singlehanded

Sounds better indeed

[–] Blaze@reddthat.com 4 points 11 months ago

Very good adventure movie!

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