4 ms·

Why bother healing nerve damage if the replacement limb is better than the original would ever be?

Mz 15y ago
This article mentions an exoskeleton, not a replacement limb. In other words, you keep the non-functional part and add something on top of it. (I've met a couple of quadriplegics. They are, in some sense, slowly rotting hunks of meat. I know this in part because I have a compromised immune system and it makes me very ill to be around one of them.) If you lose a limb and they replace it with a prosthesis and are working on improving those, great! Seriously. But if you have your original equipment and it just doesn't work, that's a different situation. For example, with organ transplants, you take anti-rejection drugs the rest of your life. I see no reason to believe that a replacement really is as good as getting the original part to work properly. Everything I have seen seems to put a great deal of emphasis on gee-golly-whiz (headline grabbing) solutions (organ transplants, exoskeletons, etc) and not nearly enough on keeping people healthy to begin with or healing what is still there.
- thebooktocome 15y ago
  > I see no reason to believe that a replacement really is as good as getting the original part to work properly. It's certainly possible: http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/17/prosthetic-limbed-runner-disqualified-from-olympics/ http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/17/prosthetic-limbed-runner-... These legs allow him to run more efficiently than his original legs would have. http://www.npr.org/2011/06/13/137029208/heart-with-no-beat-offers-hope-of-new-lease-on-life http://www.npr.org/2011/06/13/137029208/heart-with-no-beat-o... The relevant quote is: "'These pumps don't wear out,' he says. 'We haven't pumped one to failure to date.'" The same can not be said of the human heart. The rest of your argument is from lack of imagination.
  - Mz 15y ago
    The rest of your argument is from lack of imagination. My opinions on this topic are mostly rooted in having "atypical cystic fibrosis" and getting the hole in my left lung to close (tissue regeneration) when doctors say that is not possible. Peace.
kevinalexbrown 15y ago
It's not better yet. The point of the research was the sensory input back to the brain. We've had the ability to manipulate computers with our brains for a long time, but the problem with output-only is that you'd try to grab a coffee cup and break it, because you'd have no idea how hard you were grasping it. Tactile sensation is a huge part of motor control, and one that we take for granted. Try, for instance, closing your eyes and touching your nose. Without sensory feedback, you can't do it.

Mz 15y ago

This article mentions an exoskeleton, not a replacement limb. In other words, you keep the non-functional part and add something on top of it. (I've met a couple of quadriplegics. They are, in some sense, slowly rotting hunks of meat. I know this in part because I have a compromised immune system and it makes me very ill to be around one of them.) If you lose a limb and they replace it with a prosthesis and are working on improving those, great! Seriously. But if you have your original equipment and it just doesn't work, that's a different situation. For example, with organ transplants, you take anti-rejection drugs the rest of your life. I see no reason to believe that a replacement really is as good as getting the original part to work properly. Everything I have seen seems to put a great deal of emphasis on gee-golly-whiz (headline grabbing) solutions (organ transplants, exoskeletons, etc) and not nearly enough on keeping people healthy to begin with or healing what is still there.

thebooktocome 15y ago
> I see no reason to believe that a replacement really is as good as getting the original part to work properly. It's certainly possible: http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/17/prosthetic-limbed-runner-disqualified-from-olympics/ http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/17/prosthetic-limbed-runner-... These legs allow him to run more efficiently than his original legs would have. http://www.npr.org/2011/06/13/137029208/heart-with-no-beat-offers-hope-of-new-lease-on-life http://www.npr.org/2011/06/13/137029208/heart-with-no-beat-o... The relevant quote is: "'These pumps don't wear out,' he says. 'We haven't pumped one to failure to date.'" The same can not be said of the human heart. The rest of your argument is from lack of imagination.
- Mz 15y ago
  The rest of your argument is from lack of imagination. My opinions on this topic are mostly rooted in having "atypical cystic fibrosis" and getting the hole in my left lung to close (tissue regeneration) when doctors say that is not possible. Peace.

kevinalexbrown 15y ago

It's not better yet. The point of the research was the sensory input back to the brain. We've had the ability to manipulate computers with our brains for a long time, but the problem with output-only is that you'd try to grab a coffee cup and break it, because you'd have no idea how hard you were grasping it. Tactile sensation is a huge part of motor control, and one that we take for granted. Try, for instance, closing your eyes and touching your nose. Without sensory feedback, you can't do it.