jimthegray
08/21/2007, 18:21
http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/08/21/new_prosthetic.html
New prosthetic arm is powered by mini rockets
There are plenty of bionic hands out there at this point, but how many of them are powered by rockets? Not many. The Vanderbilt arm, however, breaks the trend of arms that aren't powered by mini rockets. Finally!
The wee rocket engines on board the Vanderbilt Arm provide a stronger action of the artificial muscles, faster movement, and no need for batteries. All it needs is a small power source that's about the size of a pencil. It contains a special catalyst that causes hydrogen peroxide to burn, which creates steam, which then opens and closes a bunch of valves that run spring-loaded joints. In the end, it provides a powerful prosthetic arm that's an alternative to what's out there now. Go go rocketarm! — Adam Frucci
Vanderbilt, via MedGadget
New prosthetic arm is powered by mini rockets
There are plenty of bionic hands out there at this point, but how many of them are powered by rockets? Not many. The Vanderbilt arm, however, breaks the trend of arms that aren't powered by mini rockets. Finally!
The wee rocket engines on board the Vanderbilt Arm provide a stronger action of the artificial muscles, faster movement, and no need for batteries. All it needs is a small power source that's about the size of a pencil. It contains a special catalyst that causes hydrogen peroxide to burn, which creates steam, which then opens and closes a bunch of valves that run spring-loaded joints. In the end, it provides a powerful prosthetic arm that's an alternative to what's out there now. Go go rocketarm! — Adam Frucci
Vanderbilt, via MedGadget