Bionics Reaching Out For Life

Claudia Mitchell is the first woman in the world to receive a first-generation bionic arm to replace the one she lost in a motorcycle accident. The limb responds to her thinking about moving it thanks to a technique that involves rerouting the nerves that controlled her arm and hand before, and using a sensor to pick up the impulses generated. This DARPA-funded project is the latest stage in a twenty year crusade to improve prosthetics – the next step is to enable sensory data to be returned to the user from the limb.