Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Prosthetics and animals

If there is damage or complete removal of a particular part of the body, Prosthetic have been put into use to try to restore some function. Early Egyptians are recorded using this idea of replacing limbs or appendages with artificial material. Over the years, science has evolved the artificial material from wood to metal and making it easier and more comfortable for patients to use them. Animals are being used in the beginning trials. “Because animals aren’t the intended beneficiaries of this work doesn’t mean that they won’t benefit along the way.”(Anthes, 142) In many cases animals have become the patients, and are the sole beneficiaries.  Emily Anthes author of Frankenstein’s Cat: Cuddling up to Biotech’s Brave new Beasts, talks about animals using Prosthetic for health, experimental, emotional distress, and vanity reasons.
                Animals for many years have been used to help humans better understand appliances and treatments before they are tested on human beings. However, over recent years animals have been using prosthetic procedures for their own benefit. Anthes writes about Winter, who is the tail less dolphin that needed a prosthetic tail to ensure that she would not further damage spine. Doctors took the challenge and succeeded by creating a water proof appliance that fit the dolphin perfectly. Other cases are seen in animals that lose their testicles and are replaced with silicon testicles. Owners have claimed that their animals have become depressed based on the loss of their “man hood”, and they hope that the implants will suffice. Some Veterinarians have started to specialize in plastic surgery for animals. “ Why shouldn't a dog be beautiful? Beauty is desirable. We all like talking to someone who looks good and smells nice. It’s the same with dogs“ stated a veterinarian from Brazil. (Anthes, 136)
                But the most interesting topic of the chapter was the future goal that researchers have for prosthetic. Instead of people having prosthetic that must manually perform an action, researches are experimenting  to connect the artificial material directly to the nervous system. Thus people will be able to use and control the artificial limb or appendage by their own nervous system. Animals are being used to help reach this goal. Particularly monkeys are being used, which are closely related to humans on the evolutionary tree. Not only external prosthetic but researches are hoping to use artificial material and tools to increase or support different parts of the brain.
In “Scientists Use Prosthetic Device to Restore and Improve Impaired Decision-Making Ability in Animals”, the details of future goals are explained. Brain injuries and diseases have affected many people and families; however, researches think they can implant a prosthetic in the brain to support the damaged area. Currently, the focus is on the decision making part of the brain, which is found in the frontal lobe. In monkey brains, they record the firing patterns of multiple neurons during a decision making task. When this particular part of the brain is damaged, the task cannot be performed properly. However, they play back the recorded neural activity, and the function is restored or improved.  Many are eager for these goals to be reached in human beings. Not only the patients but the US Department of Defense eagerly wait to present this technology to injured veterans.

Although the monkeys in this trial are not getting the sole benefit from this experiment, they are increasing the knowledge of so many researchers. However, “Prosthetic information flows back and forth across species lines, and it wouldn't be surprising to see scientist refining nerve integrated Prosthetic in injured animals.” (Anthes, 142)

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