There’s a pump in my testicles. When I want to have sex, I pump it up, inflate it … And then, when I’m done, I deflate it again.” So said Edinburgh’s Mohammed Abad about the “bionic penis” he has been given by doctors at University College London, after a childhood car accident robbed him of his genitals. The pneumatic phallus is the first in a long line of organ innovations that promise to one day send us in to the world of body disposability. This week, 25-year-old Joel Gibbard from Bristol won the James Dyson award for engineering innovation by designing an artificial hand that uses 3D printing to match the owner’s real hand, while also slashing component costs from £25,000 to about £3,000. In 2013, the world’s first bionic man debuted at Washington’s Smithsonian museum. Called Frank – short for Frankenstein – the $1m (£730,000) robot was a showcase hook-up for 28 different mechanical body parts. He could “breathe”. He had a beating heart and his own artificial blood. In a fast-moving field, advances are coming that the popular imagination hasn’t caught up with. Here are some of the latest states of the art. Bionic eye Prototype bionic eyes go back as far as 1983. Currently, the only “retinal prosthesis” approved for use in the US is the Argus II: a pair of glasses, plus an implant that sends impulses down the optic nerve. In May of this year, it had itsfirst British recipient, Ray Flynn, an 80-year-old with macular degeneration. The sight it provides is far from perfect, though, and only a small number of recipients get the ability to read. Bionic nose In 2013, Swedish and Spanish researchers created a lab-based nose that can identify chopped pears and apples. Bionic exoskeleton Originally developed by US military labs to help soldiers carry heavy loads, the bionic exoskeleton is helping disabled people walk. In 2012, Claire Lomas – who was paralysed after a riding accident – completed the London marathon in 16 days in an exoskeleton suit made by the Israeli firm ReWalk. Bionic hand The bionic hand that allows you to touch things has long been a reality. The bionic hand that allows you to feel things has proved far more elusive – until last year, when a Danish man was given the first feeling hand by a pan-European team in Italy. Bionic lungs While there are at least five teams worldwide working on different lung prototypes, the University of Michigan’s has so far proved the most successful. It’s the size and shape of a can, and is attached to the body with artificial vessels made of Gore-Tex. Bionic heart The first artificial heart was implanted in 1982, but the organ has proved tricky to master. A Texan company, Bivacor, suggests it may have a solution to the problemof manufacturing a tiny machine that has to beat 42m times per lifespan. Theirs won’t beat at all, instead propelling blood around the body smoothly. Bionic pancreas A team at the University of Boston used a charmingy low-tech smartphone to monitor insulin levels, plus a permanently attached pump to constantly match the body’s needs with the quantity of insulin supplied, thereby giving hope to millions of people with diabetes. Bionic brain Well, not quite. But “deep brain stimulation” – a technique that involves a brain implant, a sort of pacemaker for the brain – has already been used to treat 110,000 people with Parkinson’s disease. Source
