The idea of prosthetics has a very ancient origin. In ancient Egypt, there is a famous myth about the Eye of Horus. In this myth, the god Horus loses an eye, then gets another one from the god Thoth. Since many myths are rooted in the truth, it is not unreasonable to assume that someone in ancient Egypt had an eye prosthetic.
If you want a more concrete starting date for prosthetics, one of the earliest archaeological found prosthetics is a toe. For real. A toe. Not a leg, or arm, or even an eye. But just a toe.
This toe was found in Egypt, and was dated to around 950 BCE. Now, you may ask: “Why a toe?” Well, one idea that people had was that it helped the user of this prosthetic wear the traditional Egyptian sandals.
Moving ahead a few centuries, the next most well known prosthetic user is Marcus Sergius of the Roman Empire. Pliny the elder recorded the tale of this general. According to Pliny the elder, Marcus Sergius lost his right hand in the Second Punic War. Now at this point, most generals would retire, and rest on their laurels. But this man got himself an iron hand so that he could hold his shield and continue fighting. This absolute madman got captured by Hannibal, not once, but TWICE, and escaped both times, with one hand.
Moving a bit further on, we have the invention of the prosthetic for the everyday use. Up until this point, prosthetics were mostly used for military people for the purpose of being able to fight even after losing limbs. In the 16th century, Ambroise Pare made HUGE advancements in the creation and purpose of prosthetics. He designed things like arms with pulleys so they could be bent as if they had muscles, and legs that locked at the knee for standing, but could be bent for walking.
The next GINORMOUS advancement made in the prosthetic world was made in the 1990s, by the company Chas. A. Blatchford & Sons, Ltd. In 1993 they made the first commercially available microprocessor controlled prosthetic knee, named the intelligent prosthesis.
Also in 1993, the world's first bionic arm was made, and given to a man named Robert Campbell Aird. In 1982, He was diagnosed with muscular cancer, and in order to save his life, he was forced to amputate his arm. But in 1993, his luck turned for the better, being one of, if not the first, person to get a fully functioning bionic arm. Named the Edinburgh Modular Arm System, it had many microprocessors, gears, pulleys, and many other types of the newest tech inside it in order for Robert to be able to move his arm any which way he wanted it. He wore a cap that read his brain's electrical impulses, and the cap sent his commands directly to his arm.
We have now reached the modern day of prosthetics. New developments are happening all the time, such as the idea of biofeedback, where a prosthetic can now restore your sense of touch, as well as movement. It sends the information received from the prosthetic to the brain, so people can feel again.
If you want a more concrete starting date for prosthetics, one of the earliest archaeological found prosthetics is a toe. For real. A toe. Not a leg, or arm, or even an eye. But just a toe.
Moving ahead a few centuries, the next most well known prosthetic user is Marcus Sergius of the Roman Empire. Pliny the elder recorded the tale of this general. According to Pliny the elder, Marcus Sergius lost his right hand in the Second Punic War. Now at this point, most generals would retire, and rest on their laurels. But this man got himself an iron hand so that he could hold his shield and continue fighting. This absolute madman got captured by Hannibal, not once, but TWICE, and escaped both times, with one hand.
Also in 1993, the world's first bionic arm was made, and given to a man named Robert Campbell Aird. In 1982, He was diagnosed with muscular cancer, and in order to save his life, he was forced to amputate his arm. But in 1993, his luck turned for the better, being one of, if not the first, person to get a fully functioning bionic arm. Named the Edinburgh Modular Arm System, it had many microprocessors, gears, pulleys, and many other types of the newest tech inside it in order for Robert to be able to move his arm any which way he wanted it. He wore a cap that read his brain's electrical impulses, and the cap sent his commands directly to his arm.
Biofeedback is currently being used for things other than prosthetics. Good example of this are EEGs which measure brainwaves, ECGs to measure heart rate, and EMGs to measure muscle contraction. Currently most of this information is used for methods to relieve pain in a patient, or to control a symptom, of some sort. Biofeedback for use in prosthetics seems to be coming along, but they do not seem to be widespread, and are most likely still in the testing phase.
As for when cyborgs are coming, well if all of this doesn't sound like it's from a sci-fi novel already, with all of the advancements made, cyborgs will be coming very soon, if not already.
Nice post Isaac! It's fascinating how far prosthetics have come. From a wooden toe to an artificial arm that moves according to your brain waves. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool topic! I had no idea that prosthetic limbs existed that early on in history.
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