Thought-controlled arm prosthesis from Vienna

In December 2006 plastic surgeons at Vienna General Hospital (AKH) celebrated a European premiere: for the first time ever, they implanted a thought-controlled arm prosthesis on a patient.

The high-tech prosthesis was developed by an Austrian research team from the firm of Otto Bock, and attached to 20-year-old Christian Kandlbauer from Styria in a six-hour operation. Kandlbauer lost both arms in a high-voltage accident. However, some of the nerve fibres leading from his brain to his arms were left intact, and were "rerouted" to certain muscles in his chest.

Nerves activate sensors

The team of doctors under Professor Manfred Frey localized the muscles in his chest corresponding to movements of his left arm. Sensors were attached to these muscles and transmit signals to the prosthesis. After months of training - the muscles had to be powerful enough to send strong impulses to the sensors - and once the nerves had grown sufficiently, Kandlbauer is now in a position to move his prosthesis using his thoughts. In mid November he and his team of doctors were presented to the general public.

"After the accident, I was always dependent on outside help in my everyday life. However, now I shall soon be returning to my old job," said Kandlbauer confidently. He is the first patient outside the United States and only the third person in the world on whom trials with a "bionic" prosthesis have been carried out.

"Ready for production in 3-4 years"

"This prosthesis is a medical and technical sensation that will only be ready for production in three to four years' time," explains Hans Dietl of Otto Bock Healthcare in Vienna. Previous prostheses permitted only limited mobility of the elbow and hand. The Bock prosthesis has seven joints that also allow shoulder movements. "He carries out the movements intuitively. However, he is able to control several joints simultaneously, which produces smooth movements," said Professor Frey.

New appendix operation from Vienna

Researchers at the Medical University announced yet another premiere last December. Thanks to a new method of treatment, it will be possible to carry out appendix operations in the future without either anaesthetics or opening the abdominal wall. With the aid of an endoscope and the "Megachannel", a special tool developed in cooperation with the American Minos Medical company, the operation is carried out via the large intestine, in much the same way as a colonoscopy.

"Idea over coffee"

The multifunctional "Megachannel" includes an endoscope, and has several instruments that can be quickly exchanged during the operation. Previously it was only possible to carry out minor operations on the intestines using an endoscope. "The principle is very simple, and the idea actually came to us over a cup of coffee. We wondered why no one had ever had the idea of carrying out a conventional appendix operation using an endoscope," said project leader Professor Christoph Gasché.

World premiere in December

The method was developed in cooperation with the Vienna University Clinics of Surgery and Internal Medicine. The first operation of this type in the world is scheduled to take place in December 2007. Since this approach does not involve either opening up peritoneal cavity or anaesthetics, the operation is less risky and also shortens in-patient treatment.

Links

Vienna General Hospital (AKH) Vienna Medical University

 

Information:

Otto Bock Healthcare Products GmbH in Vienna develops and manufactures high-tech prostheses for the international market. The company is one of the foremost R&D locations of the German Bock Group, and in 2006 won the research prize of the City of Vienna for "innovative development and research initiatives" and in October 2007 the Vienna Future Prize for a new kind of artificial hand for children. www.ottobock.at