developing supernumerary limbs is a rare congenital condition that only a few cases have been documented. depending on the cause and developmental conditions, they may be single, multiple or complicated, and occur as a syndrome or associated with other anomalies. polymelia is defined as the presence of extra limb(s) which have been reported in human, mouse, chicken, calf and lamb. it seems that...

Soft limbs with anisotropic stiffness are common in nature and enable animals to solve a variety of tasks, including locomotion and manipulation. This mixture of hardness and softness enables animals to efficiently control the unpredictable contact forces that occur while performing such tasks. A challenge for soft robotics is to create artificial limbs that mimic natural mixtures of hardness a...

Many upper limb amputees experience an incessant, post-amputation "phantom limb pain" and report that their missing limbs feel paralyzed in an uncomfortable posture. One hypothesis is that efferent commands no longer generate expected afferent signals, such as proprioceptive feedback from changes in limb configuration, and that the mismatch of motor commands and visual feedback is interpreted a...

accommodation of mechanism with human being’s physical characteristics creates the possibility of safe and efficient interaction between human being and robot. regarding the fact that amputation of a limb in human beings causes several mental, economical and social difficulties and problems, need to a substitute limb which has the most efficiency for the person after amputation is a vital need....

The Vacuum Assisted Socket System (VASS), developed by Total Environmental Control (TEC), is a specialized device used with artificial limbs to manage residual limb volume fluctuation in amputees. The system consists of a TEC liner, suspension sleeve and air evacuation pump. The device creates an elevated vacuum between the liner and the socket wall. The elevated vacuum promotes natural fluid e...

Surgeon Kirk belonged to an age when innovation and strong views were not considered eccentric.' He would appear to have had a strong personality, yet is always remembered with affection. His worst defect would appear to have been a chilling stare if one disagreed with his views (Fig. 1).2 It is said that he failed his Primary F.R.C.S. and declined to repeat an attempt at such an ill-conducted ...

It is a general assumption that pneumatic muscle-type actuators will play an important role in the development of an assistive rehabilitation robotics system. In the last decade, the development of a pneumatic muscle actuated lower-limb leg orthosis has been rather slow compared to other types of actuated leg orthoses that use AC motors, DC motors, pneumatic cylinders, linear actuators, series ...