while also monitoring and adjusting the prosthesis’ movements. Devices called “actuators” do the
actual mechanical work, serving as artificial muscles to produce forces or movements that assist or replace human limb functions. Given these technologies,
researchers are paying close attention to developments in a variety of fields, including electronics, computers, and mechanical engineering. “We watch battery technology,
for example, because everything we do has to be self-powered and worn on the person,” Weir tells Newsmax. “We’re always interested in lightweight, higher density power packs, better electronics, and lightweight, small, and more powerful motors.” Steve Collins, director of the
Experimental Biomechatronics Laboratory at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, says that researchers already have a wide range of components and tools to choose from. “We are at a place in the development of these technologies where
COLLINS
we’re not waiting around for better motors or sensors or computers,” he says. “The real challenge is understanding how humans interact with these wearable robots.”
OUT OF LAB, IN REAL WORLD Even as new biomechatronic
prostheses are developed, many researchers wonder how well these complex devices will adapt to the rough and tumble world outside the lab. The BiOM T2, for example, has a projected lifespan of only three to five years of ordinary use. “There are still challenges,” says
Veronica J. Santos, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UCLA who also conducted biomechatronic
MIT’S BIONIC ANKLE: LET’S DANCE! P
erhaps the most impressive
biomechatronic prosthesis to date is the BiOM T2 ankle-foot prosthesis, which allows users with below knee amputations to walk naturally and, in many cases, with no trace of a limp. Developed at MIT’s Biomechatronics Lab, led by Hugh Herr (himself a double amputee), the BiOM T2 differs from conventional leg prostheses by emulating muscle function rather than relying on the user’s remaining muscles to provide motion energy. Herr has compared the
robot ankle to a car that uses an engine and powertrain to transport its occupants as opposed to a bicycle that requires its rider to supply all the energy.
The BiOM T2, which is
owner-programmable, uses sensors and microprocessors to control a carbon spring that functions like a human foot. The system, exclusive of the modular battery, is designed to achieve a lifespan of three to five years of ordinary use, which equates to about 5 million steps by a 250-pound user. The battery, which needs about 45 minutes to charge, can supply power to the system for four to six hours. With a price tag of more than $50,000, the BiOM T2 costs about
two to three times as much as a conventional artificial leg. On the other hand, the self-powered device allows users to
walk faster and with a more natural stride, which reduces physical stress and potentially lowers the risk of complications, such as knee osteoarthritis. BiOM Personal Bionics, the Bedford, Mass., company that makes
HASLET- DAVIS
and markets BiOM, notes that the device also increases its user’s stair-climbing “push-off power” to the level of nonamputees. Herr demonstrated BiOM technology in a most dramatic way at
a recent TED conference. At the end of his talk, he was joined on stage by Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a dancer who lost the lower part of her left leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Wearing the ankle prosthetic, she danced in public for the first time since losing her leg.
MARCH 2015 | NEWSMAX MAXLIFE 67
INSPIRATION Hugh Herr, himself a double amputee, led the research that developed the BiOM T2.
HERR/ WENDY MAEDA/THE BOSTON GLOBE/GETTY IMAGES COLLINS/JOSH CAPUTO / HASLET-DAVIS/LEIGH VOGEL/GETTY IMAGES
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