Week Four

Welcome back!

In the past week, I haven't had much experience with walking or the BiOM, sadly. My week was instead riddled with House Of Cards and popcorn. Though, I do have some good news-- I was officially granted IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval to work with human subjects! Testing hasn't begun quite yet due to rescheduling conflicts but by May 18th I will have a full set of crunched numbers ready to present. Prior to testing, I will continue reading, reading and... reading.

Some of the reading I've already done, includes this article, which expands bionic technology beyond the scope of the prosthetic devices. It considers everything from text messaging to sensory feeling in synthetic limbs. Not only did reading this allow me to better understand the background of prostheses but it gave me better perspective on these developing technologies and how they influence everything around us. Development in these fields doesn't only indicate hope for enhanced walking (amputee or not) but it shows hope for enhanced communication or even military infrastructure. In fact, the Department of Defense has funded a project which develops a device to be worn in unison with fully functional limbs to give soldiers a faster running speed--the four minute mile.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the article and are also able to consider the widely received benefits from this developing industry. Hopefully, by my next post I will be able to tell you how my first day of testing has gone.

"I cannot abide falling back to square one"
                      --Frank Underwood