Celia Magazine

The topic of bionics is not something you will see coming up in the news very often. We hear all about the heroes and those killed in the various wars fought around the world, but often little attention is paid to the survivors who are put out of action by injuries sustained in combat. This weeks issue of Robotico is looking into the incredible advances in bionic limbs which are being pioneered by engineers and scientists around the world.

The first prosthetic limb is believed to have been created some time around 300 B.C. It was uncovered in Capri, Italy and was a simple design made of Copper. These simple, one piece designs were used all the way from this time until around 1529 when French physician Ambroise Pare began to scientifically develop improved prosthetic’s for soldiers who had lost limbs in war. There was no shortage of test subjects for him to experiment with, as during this time Europe was almost constantly at war, and due to simplicity of the periods medicine amputation was a common practise. Many years later in 1898 a doctor called Vanghetti designed a prosthetic limb which could move via muscle contractions.

After World war 1 many doctors and engineers begun to design many unique prosthetics in order to improve the quality of life for veterans who were wounded in the trenches. Much like during the era of Ambroise Pare, there were hundreds of thousands of wounded men in need of replacement limbs as the brutal nature of 20th Century combat had caused devastating injuries. It wasn’t till post-world war 2 that medical advancements allowed for the development of significantly improved artificial limbs. In 1945, the national academy of science created a program called the ‘artificial limb program’ to improve the lives of veterans who had been wounded in service to their country.

Fast forward to 1993 and the worlds first bionic limb was fitted to and used by a Scottish man named Robert Campbell Aired. This piece of equipment could rotate at the shoulder and wrist, bend at the elbow and grip with the fingers. Around this time the world of artificial limbs really took a leap forward in terms of the materials being used. Metal alloys, carbon fibre and plastics were at the fore-front of materials being used as they were very durable and much more hygienic than the wood that was previously used.  In 2007 the worlds first fully bionic hand with individually working fingers was put on the market for all to use, and in 2013 smartphone compatible bionics were also introduced.