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My main criticism and cynicism from articles like these (related: prosthetics) is that they help the few people that are lucky, popular, or rich; lucky to have a doctor or to find a program and get into it; popular because they end up in social media 'feel good' posts and articles; rich because it's experimental, low-volume tech or treatments that require going abroad. Popular can also translate to being able to affo…
Walk, swim, cycle? Are we talking about pre-recorded neural commands, "modes" in implant? Or they actually managed to restore connectivity in nerves, bypassing damaged part?
They hooked up trodes to the bottom section of the nerves, enabling patients to activate, selectively, respective muscles. Chain those activations together in sequence and you got a walk. It's described in the Nature article linked from another comment - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00367-1 Also I heard authors give an interview on the radio and they mention that while walking is impressive, a more prac…
For those who are not able to access this: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.economist.com%2Fsc...
> For those who are not able to access this
Seems incredibly risky. If a muscle is stimulated too greatly without the user's ability to feel it cramp or be overworked, it could potentially rip, rupture, etc.. and now the user will be dealing with rhabdomyolysis without even having any notice.
My main criticism and cynicism from articles like these (related: prosthetics) is that they help the few people that are lucky, popular, or rich; lucky to have a doctor or to find a program and get into it; popular because they end up in social media 'feel good' posts and articles; rich because it's experimental, low-volume tech or treatments that require going abroad. Popular can also translate to being able to affo…
Just another example of how I slowly ended up living in the future without fully realizing it. Now, where's my flying car and Rosie, my robot maid?
For most of us, I do want to suggest being careful when and how you mention research and articles like this to people in wheelchairs. Just be aware there are lots of different reasons why someone might be in a wheelchair and what can and can't be done for a given illness. It can be really taxing to get suggestions or shares of articles like this from well-meaning friends and family that don't actually understand the realities of living with an injury or medical issue that puts someone in a wheelchair.
Obviously people should know work is being done. And obviously people might be excited to hear about breakthrough research. If you're inspired by articles like this, consider donating to the institutions funding the research. But, be aware that articles like this come out every year and for the vast majority of spinal cord injury patients it won't be available to them soon or ever.
If you really want to support those in the accessibility needs community, support local building code changes and adaptive sports and outdoors programs. Making buildings, sports, and wilderness accessible will impact more people positively in the near term. The science is cool and amazing, but 100k people are limited by a few stairs to enjoy life and experiences with family.
Growing up, this sort of thing was speculated about with almost the same level of "sci fi" around it as things like stopping aging, instant cures for new diseases, and video phones. Just another example of how I slowly ended up living in the future without fully realizing it. Now, where's my flying car and Rosie, my robot maid?
My main criticism and cynicism from articles like these (related: prosthetics) is that they help the few people that are lucky, popular, or rich; lucky to have a doctor or to find a program and get into it; popular because they end up in social media 'feel good' posts and articles; rich because it's experimental, low-volume tech or treatments that require going abroad. Popular can also translate to being able to affo…
Oh, knock it off. What these people did is nothing short of amazing. Yet, here we are - a completely generic and trivial "critique" comment is the highest upvoted sentiment. On the HN of all places. Jesus. The same "complaint" can be lodged against ANY novel treatment before it's fully productized for mass adoption.
I agree with you and always have to think about "Everything is amazing and nobody is happy": https://youtu.be/nUBtKNzoKZ4
-- and I don't care it's Louis C.K. saying it. Like I don't care if a songs from Michael Jackson is playing. Still true.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
No. Quote from article: "Dr Courtine and Dr Bloch have developed a wafer-thin device with electrodes that could target the dormant nerves. Once implanted into Mr Roccati’s back, the device sent in pulses of electricity that mimicked those normally present in the nerves of an uninjured person as they walk. By doing this, the device acted like an amplifier for any electrical signals coming from Mr Roccati’s brain. Thos…
Why is this post downvoted? Is it inaccurate.