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It was once a clumsy mimic of bone, a blur of steel and awkward joints. Prosthetics were unhappy realities, defined by both their necessity and their design. They could never echo tissue. They could never provide the subtlety of gestures. Instead they were shaped in titanium: meant to last but not quite to satisfy. Limbs could be replaced, but not entirely mastered. It could not be denied that the differences were too great.
Technology, however, is trying now to solve this predicament.
The field of biomechatronics, which seeks to utilize automated elements within living organisms, allowing them to combine, is booming. Engineers and physicians are working toward providing patients with more than the usual prosthetics, with the unconvincing shapes. They are instead seeking to reinvent the process and are using the aid of robotics to do it.
The idea of robotic limbs is one too often reserved for fiction, with science drenched in fantastical prose; but the notion is instead becoming a reality. Due to the advancements of science, limbs can now be reattached through machinery. Wires, pinions and sensors work together to provide enhanced movement, reflexes and touch capabilities. As of 2009 recipients of the famed SmartHand were able to perform such delicate tasks as playing the piano and mastering a computer keyboard. Simulated skin can even be placed against the components, allowing them to resemble a true limb.
And this is a marvel of technology.
No longer will patients be forced to hide their prosthetics, try to avoid the questioning stares. Instead there is now potential for all false limbs to be offered openly, able to confuse even the most discerning gazes. With the rapid progress of machines such a future is now closer than ever — and its arrival will herald a new age of healing. Its success is guaranteed. Its necessity is undeniable.