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Amputees sense change in the future
Technology may help regain lost sensations
August 28, 1996
Web posted at: 6:30 p.m. EDTFrom Correspondent Lori Waffenschmidt
ATLANTA (CNN) -- Amputees may soon be able to detect sensations like hot or cold temperatures in their artificial limbs, thanks to emerging technologies.
Every week some 3,000 Americans become amputees, losing a hand or foot, an arm or leg to traumatic accidents or crippling diseases. NovaCare Sabolich, one of the leading companies in prosthetics research and development, is working to help amputees regain sensations they once had.
"In prosthetics, we've done a good job of making things move and people run as you see," said John Sabolich. "But we've done a poor job of providing sensation back."
He added, "Until you've lost your sensation to feel, you take it for granted.
The new limbs have micro-circuits, tiny hot and cold sensors, that detect the sensation and pass it on to the amputee, Sabolich said. (357K AIFF or WAV sound)
Researchers say the new technology could help amputees safely perform tasks like heating a baby's bottle or running a child's bath. The research could also help people who've lost their sense of touch, like paraplegics and quadriplegics.
For Kenneth Kuykendall, who lost his right arm in a farming accident, it could make all the difference. He experimented with the new artificial limb. The arm was dipped into ice and he felt its freezing sting; it was placed into hot coffee and he felt its warmth.
"That's receptive enough and quick enough to where you know if you grabbed something hot," he said. "It amazed me how quick it was."
Though the technology is still in its infancy, it's come a long way from the days of hooks for hands and wooden arms and legs. The technology is not currently available to the public, but it's getting there.
"I think we're just inches away from becoming bionic people with things like this," said Georgie Maxfield with the Amputee Coalition of America.
Related stories:
- Hi-tech prosthetics aid Paralympic dreams - August 21, 1996
- Determination, technology help amputee athlete - August 19, 1996
- CNN Special Section: The 1996 Paralympic Games
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