Improving Artificial Limbs
The prosthetic limbs that are currently used have served a great purpose in that they look natural and the person can open and close the hand, but that is about all they are good for. The people that have these prosthetics can't feel any sensation in the area and have barely any neurological control. Two studies done by Physicians at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2009 conference has revealed that they have discovered a polymer (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene or PEDOT) that can stimulate nerve growth in the severed nerves of the amputees. This would allow the amputees to develop more neurological control over their artificial limbs. This new nerve growth could potentially allow amputees the ability to move individual fingers, feel sensation, and apply the right amount of pressure to fragile objects. The U.S. Department of Defense has given a $5.5 million grant to fund this research to hopefully allow soliders that have lost their arms or hands in battle to be able to regain sensation in those areas.
The first study involved surgeons electrically conducting the PEDOT polymer to regrow the damaged nerve cells in the amputated limbs. The PEDOT was put inside of a tube with other biological materical and grafted into a leg nerve of a rat. Over time this caused new nerves to grow inside the previously dead limb and function normally as they used to. The targeted muscles "came back to life" and functioned like they used to.
The second study was generally the same concept but it used a cup that had cells and muscle inside of it and the PEDOT polymer was wrapped around those cells and muscle to create an electrical charge.. This cup was placed around the severed leg nerve of the rat. After 114 days this caused new blood vessles and muscles to form, new nerve growth, and sensation to return to the rat's leg.
This article was of interest to me because it involved the regrowing of the nerve cells. My device design project involves a disease that is caused by dead nerve cells (Parkinson's). This caught my attention because it could potentially be used to cure the disease or at least lessen the effect of having it.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091025194629.htm#
The first study involved surgeons electrically conducting the PEDOT polymer to regrow the damaged nerve cells in the amputated limbs. The PEDOT was put inside of a tube with other biological materical and grafted into a leg nerve of a rat. Over time this caused new nerves to grow inside the previously dead limb and function normally as they used to. The targeted muscles "came back to life" and functioned like they used to.
The second study was generally the same concept but it used a cup that had cells and muscle inside of it and the PEDOT polymer was wrapped around those cells and muscle to create an electrical charge.. This cup was placed around the severed leg nerve of the rat. After 114 days this caused new blood vessles and muscles to form, new nerve growth, and sensation to return to the rat's leg.
This article was of interest to me because it involved the regrowing of the nerve cells. My device design project involves a disease that is caused by dead nerve cells (Parkinson's). This caught my attention because it could potentially be used to cure the disease or at least lessen the effect of having it.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091025194629.htm#
posted by Charles_Brown at 11:57 AM
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