DEKA ARM

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a limb prosthesis, which is one of the most realistic to date and is controlled by the human brain. The prosthetic arm was created by Segway inventor Dean Kamen, it is controlled by the thoughts of its owner and is able to perform complex functions. According to FG , the brain-controlled prosthesis is called the DEKA Arm, the “arm” can recognize up to 10 different movements and has the same size and weight as a normal human arm.

DEKA Arm detects electrical activity caused by muscle contraction, which is adjacent to the attachment of the prosthesis. Then these electrical impulses are sent to the computer processor in DEKA Arm, which causes the corresponding movement of the prosthesis.




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During the tests, the FDA equipped the 36 participants of the DEKA Arm to determine how a “smart prosthesis” copes with everyday tasks. According to the FDA, 90 percent of the participants were able to successfully complete their tasks, which were impossible with the help of ordinary dentures: open / close the lock with a key, cook food, feed themselves, comb, fasten the zipper.





DEKA Arm received a joking nickname "Luke" in honor of the hero of "Star Wars", who receives a replacement hands in the series "The Empire Strikes Back." The prosthesis can be adapted to the stump (the remaining part of the amputated limb) in five configurations: from the shoulder, the middle of the humerus, the elbow, the middle of the radial bone and the wrist.



The FDA claims that this is the first brain-controlled prosthetic arm that can perform several movements at the same time. The US Department of Defense research agency allocated $ 40 million for the DEKA Arm project, which is part of its Revolutionary Prosthetics program. The DEKA Arm control method is unique in that it uses “endpoint control,” says Linda Reznik, a researcher at Providence VA Medical Center. This technology allows you to control the fingers of the prosthesis, move them in space and fix in a certain position.