A new technique is being developed to improve the integration of prosthetics into the body for amputees, which could support people to regain intuitive control and comfort for lower-limb amputations.
While millions of people across the world live with limb loss, and significant advances have been made in the durability, control and function of prosthetic devices, they still lack complete integration.
Now, a first-of-its-kind study is underway which brings together Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Integrum and Northwestern Medicine, to implement a novel means of osseointegration.
The project has been hailed as having the potential to restore intuitive control and comfort for those with lower-limb amputations, and is the first to combine osseointegration, targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) and pattern-recognition control to operate a fully powered bionic leg prosthesis.
It will implant the device and perform TMR surgery on eight research subjects.
“It’s this combination of technologies that makes the device ultra-novel, advanced and intuitive,” said Levi Hargrove, the study’s lead researcher and director of the Regenstein Center for Bionic Medicine at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
“We hope that it will enable the bionic limb to feel light, comfortable and to offer unprecedented control for the user.
“This study builds on decades of our research leadership in bionics and marks a significant step forward in the field of osseointegrated bionic legs.”
Osseointegration is a technique, developed by Swedish company Integrum, where a metal implant is surgically attached to person’s residual bone. The implant then becomes an integrated extension of the body — providing a direct attachment between the bionic and residual limb, without need for a prosthesis socket which can be uncomfortable to wear.
TMR is a revolutionary surgical technique — developed by collaborators at Northwestern Medicine and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab — to allow those with amputations to have control of bionic prostheses.
Following the surgeries, the research team will lead clinical trials to evaluate the comfort and function of the osseointegrated bionic legs in comparison to socket-based technologies.
“We are very excited to embark on this opportunity with our partners in Chicago, and hope that this is just the beginning of more extensive collaborations,” said Rickard Branemark, CEO and founder of Integrum AB.
The development of the study has been supported by the award of a $1.5million grant from the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP).
