Using the Paralympics to encourage conversations about limb differences with kids
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Children are naturally curious about the world around them, especially the people that cross their paths. When kids observe someone whose body looks different from theirs, such as a person with a limb difference, they are more prone to ask questions—often Read More...
This 3D-printed eye is an eye-conic development for digital prosthetics
According to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, Steve Verze, a 47-year-old engineer from Hackney, has been the fortunate recipient of the world’s first 3D printed eyeball. He first tried the eye on for size earlier in the month, but last Thursday he was properly fitted with the prosthetic, Read More...
Monika the rescue dog is up and walking again thanks to four prosthetic limbs
Veterinarians recommended that Monika the Russian rescue dog be put down due to injuries to her four legs, but rescuers Marina Gapich and Alla Leonkina had hope for the pup, and after contacting prosthetic expert and vet Sergei Gorshkov, Monika is officially up and walking again with the help of Read More...
New MIT invention could help control prosthetic limbs more precisely
In prosthetics, the most common technology for controlling limbs is called electromyography. This technique records electrical activity from the muscles, but only provides only limited control of the prosthesis, preventing users to move the artificial body part the same way they would move a Read More...
Robotic prosthetics with tactical feedback can help amputees feel again
We have previously written about prosthetic legs that can adjust to different terrains and prosthetic hands that can be mind-controlled—but now, new developments have reached a novel level of efficiency for prosthetics and neural implants. A study published in the journal Science writes about Read More...
Triumph the koala can now run freely after dentist designs prosthetic foot
When a veterinarian nurse in New South Wales found a baby koala in 2017, the animal only had three feet, hampering it from walking and climbing freely. But recently, the male koala, named Triumph, has been climbing and running happily thanks to a prosthetic made by a neighborhood dentist. Marley Read More...
Amputees perceive their legs as too heavy, but scientists have a solution
Despite the fact that prosthetic legs are usually less than half the weight of a natural limb, leg amputees often perceive their prosthesis as too heavy. This is due to the loss of sensory feedback that amputees suffer from. In order to restore sensory feedback and help amputees perceive their Read More...
A paralyzed man just fed himself using thought-controlled robotic hands
It’s been decades since Robert “Buz” Chmielewski could properly move his arms. A surfing accident robbed him of this ability as a teenager, causing him to be paralyzed from the neck down. But now, over 30 years since the accident, Chmielewski was able to cut food and serve himself thanks to a Read More...
Young man invents 3D-printed, mind-controlled arm. And it’s affordable
The problem with functional prosthetic arms is that they cost a fortune, averaging between $20,000 and $100,000. That doesn’t account for the time and money that goes into working and getting fitted with a prosthetist. To make functional prosthetics more accessible for all, a startup called Read More...
How divers recovered a man’s lost prosthetic leg from the ocean floor
DeWalt Mix was paddle-boarding off the coast of Long Beach, training for the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo when he lost his specialized prosthetic leg. The Fire Department dove right in to try to retrieve it for him, but to no avail. When rescue divers couldn’t find it on Sunday, Mix all but Read More...