Bionic limbs now a reality

[Grimmlok]

It sounds like the stuff of science fiction.

But scientists really have found a way to give amputees bionic limbs.

Experts at University College London are working on a technique to fuse skin to metal.

Before the discovery, known as Intraosseous Transcutaneous Amputation Prosthesis (ITAP), binding metallic limbs with skin was too dangerous because of infection.

But scientists say they have overcome this and believe ITAP may enable doctors to give amputees fully functioning bionic limbs which are linked to the patient's nervous system within five years.

UCL experts discovered the technique after observing how skin moulds naturally around deers' antlers.

The method involves attaching a metal implant to bone so it sticks out of the skin. Prostheses can then be attached to the device and controlled by the patient's own thoughts.

Surgeons are thought to have successfully operated on a handful of amputees including two victims of the 7/ 7 bombings in London.

Gordon Blunn, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at UCL's Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculo-Skeletal Science, told the Times: "We found that the bone structure under the skin was very different to that which was exposed.

"It was very porous, with lots of tiny holes, which the dermis (inner layer of skin) webs its way into."

Eureka moment

He added: "That was the eureka moment."

Norbert Kang, a plastic surgeon involved in the first clinical trials at Mount Vernon Hospital in Middlesex, said patients treated with the new technique had seen their lives turned around.

He explained how one was able to use a pen for the first time in ten years, and how another patient who lost an eye to cancer, had a prosthetic eye successfully fitted. If successful, the procedure could save the NHS millions, as it will remove the heavy medical costs incurred when treating amputees, including the replacement of sockets, repeated prosthetic fittings as well as the treatment of pressure sores and infections.

Paul Unwin, of Stanmore Implants worldwide, a medical firm working with UCL, said: "ITAP has the potential to play a key role in the next generation of bionic prostheses, working with artificially intelligent powered limbs, under the control of the patient's own nervous system."

The number of people in the developed world who have limbs or digits amputated is around 390million.

In Europe, there are approximately 156,000 digits and limbs amputated every year, mainly as a result of disease.

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