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Blog: Science Bionic Legs Help Crash Survivor Walk Again
Michael Hoffman (Blog) - July 18, 2007 12:01 AM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 10 comment(s) - last by Bioniccrackmon.. on Jul 20 at 3:22 PM
A Chinese man takes a giant leap towards being able to walk again one day

Peng Shulin is able to walk again with the help of a pair of bionic legs that were custom fit for his lower body.  After Shulin  was involved in a tragic accident that ultimately led to him losing the lower half of his body, his future looked bleak - As many as 20 doctors were called in to help safe Peng's life, having to go as far as grafting skin from his head onto his face.

Even though he was bedridden since the accident, Shulin never gave up hope for the future.

Shulin recently began strengthening his arms so that he would be able to do daily activities such as brushing his teeth and combing his hair.  Doctors from Beijing's China Rehabilitation Research Center helped create a "sophisticated egg cup-like casting to hold his body with two bionic legs attached to it."

Shulin is reportedly delighted with the ability to walk again.

Robotic companies and independent researchers are conducting a large amount of research to help develop the new generation of bionic body parts, especially for amputees.  Researchers hope artificial body parts are able to one day work and feel like a real body limb.  Soldiers and accident victims can now pay for technology which allows them to lead a better life.

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How does he...uh, you know....?
By Conman530 on 7/18/2007 12:23:24 AM , Rating: 4
How does this guy like, engage in regular bodily functions, and all that other doodly-doo?




RE: How does he...uh, you know....?
By XToneX on 7/18/2007 8:16:16 AM , Rating: 2
You know, I was honestly and respectfully thinking the same thing. It's pretty cool to see how advanced the world is getting with this sort of technology. I hope for the best.


RE: How does he...uh, you know....?
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 7/18/2007 8:41:32 AM , Rating: 2
Yeap, makes me wonder if I can replace certain body parts in several years for high performance ones?


RE: How does he...uh, you know....?
By oTAL (blog) on 7/18/2007 9:31:36 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Yeap, makes me wonder if I can replace certain body parts in several years for high performance ones?


So you chose the upgrade path....
Well... I got to tell you... I took a queue from the path the industry is taking and acquired a balanced, high performance system out of the box. It is upgrade limited and I plan to stick with the original organs for as long as possible (I treat them well, don't overclock, don't do drugs, etc.) since it will be hard to find a new heart (or whatever) if I get to need it. Plus any such upgrade will probably require immunosuppressors due to an upgrade resistant immunological system.
On the other hand, I'm quite happy with the overall performance and do not currently feel the need for any upgrades.
Still, we all know how it goes with technology. As it gets older I may be less pleased with it's performance on certain *key* areas... I'll cross that bridge if and when it comes my way.

Hope your choice works out for you and good look with the clinic...


By murphyslabrat on 7/18/2007 10:43:39 AM , Rating: 2
ROFLMAO


By BBeltrami on 7/18/2007 12:37:05 PM , Rating: 2
Playing devil's advocate... Does it seem that far fetched that a professional athlete, say an NFL lineman or running back, would choose to replace perfectly healthy parts (say for example, hip joints, knees and ankles) with high-performance alternatives, thereby trading a 4-year career followed by a lifetime of pain for a 15 year career and relatively minimal future discomfort?


RE: How does he...uh, you know....?
By Spivonious on 7/18/2007 1:41:04 PM , Rating: 2
But can you overclock the legs???


RE: How does he...uh, you know....?
By ted61 on 7/18/2007 3:24:43 PM , Rating: 4
Only in the WWF, MMA and cycling.


RE: How does he...uh, you know....?
By rtrski on 7/19/2007 2:11:45 PM , Rating: 3
"Really, Honey, it's not you...that damn iPhallus software just crashed again! I think there's some sort of network traffic that keeps triggering WindowsBiovista firewall alerts.
"Honey...? Come back! Please, just give me a minute to look for a Service Pack! ...Honey?"


Nice kicks
By Bioniccrackmonk on 7/20/2007 3:22:07 PM , Rating: 2
At least the bionic legs come with some nice shoes, are those old school ADIDAS?




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