Project aims to give amputees better mobility, less discomfort (12/9/04)

Project aims to give amputees better mobility, less discomfort
By Associated Press, 12/9/2004 12:50


PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) A Providence-based research consortium has received $7.2 million in funding for a project to restore arm and leg function to amputees, particularly those who lost limbs in wars.

The researchers from Brown University, the Providence VA Medical Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hope to develop biohybrid limbs that would allow amputees to use nerves and brain signals to move the arm or leg. The aim is to give amputees better mobility and control of their limbs. It should also reduce the discomfort and infections common with current prosthetics.

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