Six Million Dollar Man becoming a science fact

Lee Majors, aka the Six Million Dollar Man: Researchers questioned whether cohesive work between medicine, engineering and materials science could make the 'Bionic Man' a reality

By Lloyd Mudiwa. The Six Million Dollar Man, the fictional astronaut who was rebuilt using bionic parts after he nearly died in a plane crash, could become a reality within 10 years, researchers have suggested.

In a review of bionic prosthetic hands, present technology and future aspirations, researchers from the Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh said it was possible the bionic hand could someday even surpass the human hand in terms of functionality.

“The advancements in this field of medicine are exponential and it is likely that within 10 years there will be commercially available limbs that provide both sensation and accurate motor control from day one,” they wrote in the study published in The Surgeon, the journal for the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Ireland.

The researchers questioned whether, while the progress to bio-artificial organs that are fully integrated into the central nervous system and have capabilities that surpass our own may still sound more like science fiction than science fact, cohesive work between medicine, engineering and materials science could make the ‘Bionic Man’ a reality.

The researchers found that the bionic limb of today had progressed greatly since the simple hook prostheses were first introduced centuries ago.

Discussing the major functions of the human hand being replicated artificially in modern bionic hands, they concluded that despite the impressive advances, bionic prostheses remained an inferior replacement to their biological counterparts.

They also examined some of the key areas of research that could lead to vast improvements in bionic limb functionality that might one day be able to fully replicate the biological hand or perhaps even surpass its innate capabilities.

While an in-depth knowledge of this field of medicine was currently only required by a small number of individuals working in highly specialised units, with improving technology it was likely the demand for and application of bionic hands would increase and a wider understanding would be necessary, they postulated.

Consequently, the researchers said, it was important for the healthcare community to have an understanding of the development of bionic hands and the technology underpinning them as this area of medicine would more than likely expand.

lloyd.mudiwa@imt.ie