Prostheses: A History

Hello World!

I'm back and without any real project updates. Because subjects keep rescheduling with the NAU team, I'm still unable to start gathering data. So today I will give you a history of prosthetic devices. It may not seem so fun, but just wait.

Prosthetics go way back, farther than I had even imagined. In fact, in the time of the Punic Wars it's said that a Roman general lost his arm and had an iron one fashioned for himself to continue fighting. If you don't know the exact time period of the Punic Wars (which I don't expect you to), it's 264 BC-146 BC.

Advance a few (thousand) years and researchers have located what they believe to be the first preserved artificial body part--a mummified prosthetic toe made from wood and leather. The toe belonged to an Egyptian noblewoman who's been preserved for nearly 3,000 years! Sure, wood and leather don't compare to a motor and cast, but they lay a groundwork for years of prosthetics ahead.

The toe!

Post mummified Egyptians, we see major advances in prosthetics in 16th century France. In fact, the advancements made during this time are still widely used in the prosthetics today. Military doctor, Ambroise Paré, developed hinging hands and legs that could lock at the knee alongside harness attachments. After his work, a Dutch surgeon, Pieter Verduyn, developed a lower leg prosthesis with specialized hinges.

By 1812, a prosthetic arm was developed which could be controlled by the opposite shoulder through multiple different straps. Later in the 1800s, the creation of gaseous anesthesia allowed for more precise and careful surgeries. Additionally, due to better and more hygienic conditions, surgeries had a much higher success rate, which in turn, increased demand for prostheses. This demand continued to increase into the 20th century for various reasons (like WWII) until the National Academy of Sciences developed the Artificial Limb Program in 1945.

The shoulder-arm attachment

Give it 70 years and we're at modern day prosthetics. Which have become wildly more advanced. In an article from Gear Patrol, Amos Kwon and Ben Bowers explain these advancements through one man's story, and no, it's not the already mass publicized story of Oscar Pistorious, "In the case of Sergeant 1st Class Leroy Petry, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, a biomechanical hand allowed him to rejoin the Army Rangers. Sensors in the prosthetic forearm and hand pick up electro-muscular signals which would normally cue his own hand to move, giving him an intermediate level of dexterity that mimics basic hand movements."

Leroy Petry and his bionic hand!

I hope you found this history as interesting as I did.
Until next time,
Pooja