Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Bionics (also known as biomimetics, biognosis, biomimicry, or bionical creativity engineering) is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word "bionic" was coined by Jack E. Steele in 1958, possibly originating from the Greek word "βίον", pronounced "bion", meaning "unit of life" and the suffix -ic, meaning "like" or "in the manner of", hence "like life". Some explain the word as being formed from "biology" + "electronics".
We are entering a new era of technology inspired by lifestyle and healthcare. The human body is a significant application area for technology and, under the research theme of bionics, we are applying the techniques and understanding of engineering to applications which will improve human health.
Our research group is a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, clinicians and biochemists, interfacing engineering technologies to biological systems to improve chronic disease management. The team is developing biomedical platforms based on established techniques and leveraging on semiconductor technology to produce a new breed of medical devices. Such examples include silicon β-cells in a bionic pancreas for diabetics, ultra low power solid-state bio/chemical sensors for continuous monitoring, advanced microfluidics for lab-on-chip technologies, neural monitoring and stimulation to enable future diagnostic/monitoring tools, in addition to therapies for personalised healthcare. By improving diagnosis and offering individual solutions for managing chronic disease, personalised healthcare devices give patients more control over their treatment and enable them to continue with an independent lifestyle. A key drive is for these devices to provide low cost and thus disposable solutions for diagnosis and monitoring which can be applied at the point of care, often outside the clinic or hospital.
Bionics is a term which refers to flow of ideas from biology to engineering and vice versa. Hence, there are two slightly different points of view regarding the meaning of the word. In medicine, Bionics means the replacement or enhancement of organs or other body parts by mechanical versions. Bionic implants differ from mere prostheses by mimicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing it. Bionics' German equivalent "Bionik" always takes the broader scope in that it tries to develop engineering solutions from biological models. This approach is motivated by the fact that biological solutions will always be optimized by evolutionary forces.

Design and development of electronic or mechanical artificial systems that imitate those of living things. The bionic arm, for example, is an artificial limb (prosthesis) that uses electronics to amplify minute electrical signals generated in body muscles to work electric motors, which operate the joints of the fingers and wrist.

Since the first bionic arm was fitted to a man in 2001, bionic limb technology has further emerged as a practical, exciting medical technology for amputees. For many years, amputees

have had the option to use simpler prosthetic limbs, which are less functional but maintain a more normal appearance. However,up-and-coming bionic limb technology offers limbs that

are controlled by the brain.

Chapter 2

Bionic technology

The first bionic arm was fitted to a man in 2001, bionic limb technology has further emerged as a practical, exciting medical technology for amputees. For many years, amputees have had the option to use simpler prosthetic limbs, which are less functional but maintain a more normal appearance. However, up-and-coming bionic limb technology offers limbs that are controlled by the brain .Incident Jesse Sullivan is considered the first amputee to have an artificial limb controlled by the brain. In May of 2001, Sullivan suffered serious burns during his work as a utility lineman and had to have both limbs amputated. Seven weeks after the incident ,Sullivan met with researchers in Chicago to discuss possible options for restoring limb functions through prosthetics .At this time, Sullivan met Dr. Todd Kuiken, head of the neuroengineering department at the Center for Artificial Limbs at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Dr. Kuiken developed the special technology, muscle reinnervation , in order to install Sullivan’s bionic left arm. For Sullivan, this process involved grafting nerves in his left shoulder that previously went to his arm into his pectoral muscle. When Sullivan wants to move his left arm, an impulse is sent from his brain to the grafts, causing a small contraction in his chest muscle. The contraction is detected by electrodes, which transmit the signal to the arm’s computer, signaling motors to move the hand or elbow. While Sullivan has a left bionic arm, his right arm is a simpler prostheticone, consisting of a hook. Sullivan stated the following on his bionic arm: “When I use the new prosthesis I just do things .I don’t have to think about it” .According to Gregory Clark, associate professor of bioengineering and prosthetics researcher at the University of Utah, the usual arm is able to go through twenty-two distinct motions. Sullivan’s bionic arm is able to go through four movements ,but researchers are working to improve the capabilities of bionic arm movement On September 14, 2006, the first bionic woman was introduced to the world. Claudia Mitchell, previously an officer in the United States Marine Corps, had to have her arm amputated after a devastating motorcycle accident . After reading about bionic limb technology used with males, Mitchell contacted Dr. Kuiken, the same researcher who developed the technology for Jesse Sullivan . Just as in Sullivan’s case, nerves from Mitchell’s brain were rerouted from her arm to her chest, and electrodes were implemented to direct her bionic arm . Actual usage of the bionic arm is not immediate, however. After the procedure of rerouting nerves takes place, a patient must wait three to five months for the nerves to grow into their new position, and then the bionic arm can be utilized . Mitchell’s bionic arm allows her to eat, get dressed, and pick up items. Her bionic arm employs three motors to perform desired commands. In the future, engineering researchers plan to create a bionic arm that utilizes six motors, so that patients can execute more difficult tasks in a natural manner. Researchers would also like to apply the same methods to creating bionic legs, so that patients can sense where they are walking . Bionic limb technology has even greater implications for us in the near future. Later in 2006, United States soldiers who lost their limbs serving in Iraq and Afghanistan will have the chance to restore arm movement through bionic limb technology. However, this valuable technology does not come at a small price. The cost of Claudia Mitchell’s bionic limb was about sixty thousand dollars .
Bionic limb technology has not yet become a widespread medical technology , because it is a relatively new, growing area of biomedical research. Those who have had bionic arms fitted are able to perform daily functions using a thought-controlled arm .Only a few years after a bionic limb was fitted to the first man in the world, the same technology has been fitted to a woman .As biomedical technology continues to develop and progress at a rapid pace, amputees will have improved models of prosthetic devices to choose from. Researchers are working to make bionic limb technology more efficient, and to apply the technology to prosthetic leg devices. As the improving technology continues to become more widespread, more amputees will have the option to regain their lives back using bionic limb technology.

Nerve grafting

Nerves are similar to electric cable and contain many fibre. some of these fibres are sensory providing feeling in a defined area, some are motor activating the muscle and sweat glands

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When a nerve gets injured the fibre spreads out of the nerve ending and grow across the gap toward the other end of the nerve at about 1mm/day. recovery can fail for many reasons. If the nerve is not recovered the gap is too large for the fibre to find.

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Nerve grafts are the traditional methods of dealing with these problem. A length is taken from another nerve. These grafts will probable give you the best return of nerve function . However it will cause loss of feeling in the area supplied by the donor

muscle reinnervation

Targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR), which allows a prosthetic arm to respond directly to the brain's signals, making it much easier to use than traditional motorized prosthetics. This technique, still under development, allows wearers to open and close their artificial hands and bend and straighten their artificial elbows nearly as naturally as their own arms.
The idea is that when you lose your arm, you lose the motors, the muscles and the structural elements of the bones. But the control information should still be there in the residual nerves.Take the residual nerves, which once carried the commands from the brain to produce arm, wrist and hand movements, and connect them to the chest muscles so that the signals can be used to move the artificial limb.
While TMR is more intuitive and natural, Kuiken and his team wanted to see if they could extract more of the wealth of information from the electrical signals produced by the nerves and chest muscles and harness it to provide a greater number of hand and arm movements.
In the study published in the Journal of Neurophysiology, they placed between 79-128 electrodes from the EMG onto the chest muscles of five patients to see if they could identify the unique EMG patterns emitted with 16 different elbow, wrist, hand, thumb and finger movements they asked the patients to perform. The EMG signals from each of the 16 movements were analyzed using advanced signal processing techniques. The study found that the researchers could recognize the signals associated with the different arm movements with 95% accuracy.

Chapter 3

APPLICATION

Building the Bionic Man

Once the realm of science fiction, bionics is slowly but surely becoming a reality. Advances in medical prostheses and computer technology are making the dream of building a bionic human a reality.

Bionic limb
The bionic arm, for example, is an artificial limb (prosthesis) that uses electronics to amplify minute electrical signals generated in body muscles to work electric motors, which operate the joints of the fingers and wrist.The work paves the way for bionic limbs which are controlled by the central nervous system.
The technique, called Intraosseous Transcutaneous Amputation Prosthesis (ITAP), involves securing a titanium rod directly into the bone. The metal implant passes through the skin and the artificial limb can be directly attached to it. Currently, artificial limbs are fixed or strapped to an amputee's stump. Risk of infection, which could be caused by bacteria passing from the external limb through the rod to the bone, is avoided because the skin tissue meshes around the rod to form a seal.

The Bionic Hand

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Karl Chapin from Grafton, Massachusetts. And he's showing off his new prosthetic device called the " i-Limb " ...it's a bionic hand to replace his right hand which was blown off in Vietnam

The world's first commercially available bionic hand took many hands many years to develop. Created by Touch Bionics, it's multi-articulating, meaning each finger has its own motor. Artificial hands are often hooklike, limited to simple open and close gestures, but the iLimb has more subtle capabilities, like a credit-card grip for grasping narrow objects. It also has a power hold for larger things like coffee mugs. Research on the device began in the United Kingdom's national health system back in the 1960s. Now hundreds of people around the world are using it. Next up for Touch Bionics

Bionic Legs
There are two interesting developments in bionic legs:
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1. Replacement bionic legs for amputees. These bionic legs are attached following an amputation to help the patient regain lost limb function. An example of this type of bionic leg is the Victhom Power Knee
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2. Augmented bionic legs for soldiers and other heavy lifting applications. Pictured above is the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton, or Bleex, is part of a US defence project designed to be used mainly by infantry soldiers.

Bionic Eye:
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The Argus II bionic eye is currently undergoing trials in 50-75 patients in the US. The system uses a spectacle mounted camera that feeds visual information to 60 electrodes implanted in the retina.
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|A receiver under the eye surface passes the |
|signals back to the chip |

The first artificial eye that connects directly into the optic nerve was successfully implanted in 2000 for an initial trial. The eye was composed of a video camera, radio antenna, and microchip, and stimulated different parts of the optic nerve enabling visual sensations in the brain.

Bionic Ear: Cochlear Implant
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Cochlear implants are one of the oldest pieces of the bionic man, first developed in 1969 by William House and Jack Urban.Although traditionally the devices have been implanted in just one ear, bilateral cochlear implants are currently being trialled as two implants help in localizing sounds.Bionic ears work by replacing with electrodes the hairs in the ear that naturally convert sounds into electrical impulses

Bionic Brain
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An artificial hippocampus (part of the brain responsible for storing new memories) is being developed by scientists at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Arrays of electrodes record electrical activity coming from the brain and further arrays send appropriate electrical instruction back out. The idea is that the implant will be able to bypass damaged areas of brain tissue by replicating it’s function electronically.
Bionic Tongue
Scientists at the Luebeck Medical University in Germany have conducted successful tests on pigs of the first bionic tongue .The tongue is constructed from throat muscles linked to a device that transmits nerve signals in a similar way to a heart pacemaker.
Bionic Nose
We are still waiting for a bionic nose but in the meantime development continues on artifical electronic noses. Uses for such technology include laboratory noses for measuring aromas used in R&D for food, beverage, medical and environmental applications. They are also being used in hospitals for smelling for ’superbugs’.
Bionic Heart
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In July 2001, Robert Tools received the first completely self-contained artificial heart transplant. The Abiocor replacement heart is designed for patients with end-stage heart failure when all other treatment options have been exhausted.
Bionic Lung
Surgeon Robert Bartlett successfully replaced 100% of the lung function of sheep with an implantable artificial lung. The design used tiny hollow fibers and the hearts own pumping power. Other designs for artificial lungs have used external mechanical pumps to push the blood through the oxygenating device.
Bionic Arm
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Bionic arms work by detecting movements of chest muscle that have been connected to the remains of nerves that once went to the lost limb. The impulses emitted from the transplanted nerves into the chest muscle are picked up by the harness and processed by a computer which then directs very precise movements of the artificial limb.
Bionic Kidney Currently, patients with renal failure rely on external dialysis to replace the functions carried out by the human kidney. Work is ongoing on dialysis technology to decrease the size and complexity which will result in implantable bionic kidneys according to Dr. William Fissell, an internist at the University of Michigan School of Medicine:
The first step toward that goal, Fissell said, is improving the effectiveness of external artificial kidneys, or hemodialysis devices. Next would be to make an external device small enough for a patient to wear continuously. The final step would be a device that could be implanted, not unlike a pacemaker for the heart.
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Bionic Stomach
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Martin Wickham from the Institute of Food Research has developed an artificial stomach to help decipher how the human gut reacts to various foods and conditions. This device is not intended to be a bionic stomach replacement though as the artificial stomach is not connected to humans and is not designed to replace stomach activity.

OTHER APPLICATIONS

Artificial wombs

Artificial gut

Artificial blood

Artificial blood vessels

Artificial bones

Artificial skin

Artificial retina

Artificial body parts from stem cells

IN ANIMALS:
Scientists at John's Hopkins University, in Baltimore have demonstrated for the first time that neural activity recorded from a monkey's brain can control fingers on a robotic hand, making it play several notes on a piano. Some scientists create artificial bones using inkjet printing.

Dog Made Adorably Bionic With Model Airplane Wheels

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This tiny puppy, named Hope, was born without front legs. You know what that means: it was time to create a robopuppy. Orthotist David Turnbill created a custom support for Hope using a couple of model airplane wheels, and each one of the "legs" can move up and down independently, allowing Hope to pivot and turn. If you were to say this is the most adorable thing ever, you might .Some transplant artificial lymph nodes. Others study artificial placenta. Others have genetically engineered skin cells to make artificial skin. And then there is the artificial cornea and artificial gut. Artificial synapses were created between nanoelectronic devices and mammalian neurons

Conclusion :
Although bionics is still under research but all the research done till yet are proving very helpful not only to mankind but also to the animals. Thus by collectively using the biological and engineering resources the humans have reached that limit from where many of the things which were even difficult to imagine are possible in today’s world. This research has given new benchmark to the human and will prove to be very helpful to humans in the coming years.

References

[1] ,”Nerve Grafting”,

[2] www.google.com

[3] www.cbsnews.com

[4] http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/its-not-the-movies-says-bionic-

[5] Woman/2006/09/15/1157827154967.html..

[6] http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/