3D Medical Devices Integrate With Body Augmentation Functionalities

Researchers at UCL University recently found out a robotic “third arm” that can led to brain altering chemistry and physical knowhows which were previously unknown to the human autonomy. The team of researchers trained people to integrate an additional robotic thumb and found out an increase in efficiency for carrying out minimal tasks such as building a block tower with one hand. Body augmentation is creating a buzz among the neuroscience world with the growing advantage of widening our current physical limitations. The experiment was rested on a physical thumb which was printed, which made it highly customizable and is equipped on the hand opposite to the dominant hand of the user (Near the pinky finger).

The user can control the movement of the thumb using sensors attached to their feet on the underside of their big toes. A wireless receiver and transmitter control the communication between the device & the user. Additionally, the toe sensor controls the levity of the movement and responds to subtle changes due to precise control offered by the device. For the period of the study, a group of 20 participants were invited to train using the third thumb for five days totaling the wear time of the device between a range of two to six hours. The control group was further compared to another group which consisted of people who wore a virtual version of the thumb while participating in the same set of exercises.

Initial tasks included picking up wine glasses or a variety of balls with one hand and as progress was ensured, building blocks were bought into the picture. The study concluded that people quickly anticipated an external augmented device and integrate it into their day-to-day lives without much effort. The participants were further treated to routine fMRI’s both before and after the conclusion of the experiment to find out minute details in the brain chemistry. A week later a batch of participants were scanned again which indicated that the changes made in the brain chemistry did not last after the device was unequipped.