Mind-controlled prostheses closer to reality thanks to Össur

Bionic limbs are not all that farfetched, and one company has now brought a workable example into reality. Developed by a company called Össur, its prosthetic technology uses a mesh of myoelectric sensors (IMES) that are inserted into the muscle tissue through a 15 minute operation. The sensor allows the user to move the device with “intuitive actions.”

Thanks to this advancement Jon Sigurdsson, President & CEO of Össur, suggests that this technology will adapt “not only to the individual’s intentional movements,” but become more like an actual part of the body that’s “truly integrated with [the] user.”

When the user wants to move, subconscious signals spark electrical impulses that travel to the users muscles, but it’s the IMES receivers that make it possible. It’s essential a learning leg.

The smart prosthetic limbs will be able to learn how the individual walks and use this information to automatically adjust to terrain and momentum. When inserted, unless the sensors are damaged or for some other reason fail, they will last a lifetime. There’s no biological transplants needed.

According to Dr. Ingvarsson, one of the professionals involved in the project, the mind-controlled technology works with all current commercially available Össur Bionic prostheses, including the company’s Power knee, Rheo knee, Proprio foot and Symbionic leg.

So I did some thinking and I wondered, what if you needed two arms, would you then acquire the ability to bench a ton and a bag of chips?

Meet Les Baugh, a 59-year-old man who lost his arms at age 17 in an electrical accident, now living in the United States. He met a team of engineers at John Hopkins University Applied Physics Labs, who have been developing a robotic arm that has 100 sensors, 26 joints, the ability to curl 45 pounds in weight and exhibit all of this with a single thought.

Okay, so hold up, what if two wrestlers each have a robotic limb, does this mean they could actually make wrestling real and exciting. Imagine getting into a bar fight and turns out the guy who wants to punch you, also has a robotic fist, that turns coal into diamonds.

The video below is not of an Össur product, but it demonstrates just how incredibly quickly this technology is developing.