- Health The 'brain' of bionic legs
When he was 18 years old and enjoying what he liked most in the world, climbing, Hugh Herr (1964, Lancaster, USA) saw his destiny change without solution. Or not?
I wanted to be a top climber; professional. In fact, at the age of eight he already made his first steps in a vertical climb of Mount Temple in the Canadian Rockies. But in 1982, after suffering an accident while ascending a frozen route that had him isolated for three days in temperatures up to -29 degrees with a climbing partner, they had to amputate both legs above the knee. Even so, he did not stop dreaming of this sport and today considers "fascinating the path that was opened" before him, as he says in this interview with EL MUNDO on his way through Madrid.
And it is that Herr has continued to climb thanks to the bionic limbs that he himself devised and has implanted, which emulate the function of the biological ones and even improve the physiological movements and capacities with which he was born.
Time magazine named him the leader of the bionic era for his groundbreaking work in the field of biomechatronics, a technology that combines human physiology with electromechanics.
From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he directs the Biomechatronics Group, in addition to co-directing the K. Lisa Yang Bionics Center, launched last year with other MIT colleagues.
The latest work focuses on the synthetic interfaces of tissues that connect the body with electromechanics and that play a fundamental role in the reconstruction of bionic limbs. Thus, a motor in each of the extremities replaces the muscle; Carbon springs to tendons and small computers, to the brain.
In 2015, Herr's research group at MIT invented the Myoneural Agonist-Antagonist Interface, a novel surgical procedure for limb amputation and the neural interface that allows people with limb loss to control that synthetic limb through thought, in addition to experiencing natural sensations.
Also, and among many other innovations, his team has designed a digital nervous system designed to artificially control the paralyzed muscles whose purpose is to restore motor function to people with limb pathologies.
In 2016, and in addition to numerous international awards, he received the Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research. In those years he predicted that in this twenty-first century bionic repair would mean the end of disability. Where are we? In this last year I have established a new center at MIT's center for KLC Bionics that will establish foundational and basic science and technology that will be used as a platform for future augmentations, that will really bridge this bridge between human limitations and realizing their potential. We are in this phase of reviewing technologies, nanotechnologies at all scales to establish that, in fact, we have tools of help, of rehabilitation and we will continue to advance in all this throughout this century. We will move forward as fast as we can because it will be the best. The more funding we get, of course, for this type of research and development, the better because we will move faster. Bionics is not only for those who have stroke, paralysis, amputations or other pathologies... It can be applied to everyone and I think that in about 10 years you will walk through the streets of Madrid and you will see people wearing bionics and their ability to jump, run, feel, think, speak, express themselves will improve a lot. So isn't it just about limbs? Absolutely. Today, all humans carry increases. I got on the plane and flew to Madrid from the United States; I have a smartphone that increases my memory, my knowledge... Well, as we move into the twenty-first century, technology and the marriage between human physiology and technology is going to get better and bigger. This level of intimacy will allow us to achieve an expression without variations with humans and between humans thanks to the devices we design.
In about 10 years, you will walk through the streets of Madrid and you will see people wearing bionics and their ability to jump, to run, to feel, to think, to speak and to express themselves will improve a lot.
With all those advances and with those physical improvements, will we still be human? This is a philosophical question. We profoundly change the experiences, expressions and communications in human beings. We will not ask this question again in this century. What does it mean to be human? Philosophically it is going to be an incredibly interesting century and also in terms of policies of action, of ethics... We will move forward, surely, because with bionic technology there are appropriate uses, but, unfortunately, there are also inappropriate uses. Therefore, we have to write laws, guidelines for action around bionics and assistive technologies and increases in human capabilities so that this technology is used correctly. That is, to contribute to alleviating human suffering, to increasing their physical capacities ... but never to use them in ways that lead to the collapse of individual freedom, human expression and human diversity. I believe that as a society we will move forward. We will be able to elucidate how to clarify the use of these technologies, as we have done in the past with pharmacological technologies. There has always been a positive benefit for society and I believe that in this case we will also achieve it. On occasion he has commented that the way in which amputation surgery is carried out should improve. Has there been any progress in this area? Yes, there have been important advances in the last decade on how to proceed in the amputation of limbs and these advances continue and will continue to occur in the next two decades. We live in a fascinating time. Before, bionic design had the conceptual acceptance framework of the organism as it is, and we only had technologies to interface with the organism, but with the modern approach, it is different. We design electromechanics with human physiology to enhance communication between the system and the human being. Codes and engineering are very powerful models to be able to make augmentations and aids for humans. We are talking about 'smart' prostheses that are not available to everyone... When I design new human capacities, I always keep in mind, as part of the whole process of invention and innovation, how much the technology will ultimately cost, as well as the regulatory framework we will need for its distribution and commercialization, the necessary legislation... All these issues of costs, regulatory obstacles and others I include in the design process and we always try to develop technologies that have an adequate cost to be able to efficiently have the technology and that reaches these patients who really need those capabilities that we design. Can these bionic prostheses be implanted at any age? Do you have to have a physical shape and certain characteristics to be able to have them? Well, in general the technology that we are developing at MIT can be implemented at any age and can be started to be used with many variations. Sure, we don't want this design restriction, i.e. having technology that helps the body only passively. Electronics and all technology are outside the body, and in this way it is easier to implant in a very young person; technology improves it and in this way you would not have to repeat the surgery and intervention.That you have developed patents and smart prosthetics over the years? The truth is that I do not keep count, but there will be hundreds [smiles]. If you had not suffered the accident at the age of 18, would you have dedicated yourself to the world of technology and, specifically, to bionics? No, no, no, no, not at all, not at all. My goal before the accident was to be the best climber and mountaineer in the world. This was my goal; I was totally focused on it. I was very young then. When I suffered the accident, and while I was in rehab I designed my own legs and returned to competitive climbing. This has already changed the purpose of my life. I realized the power of technology to heal, help, rehabilitate and, in my case, to provide me with the possibility of expanding my capacities beyond my physiological levels. This was an inspiration to me and laid the foundation for me to dedicate my whole life to improving people's bodies.
We need to write laws, guidelines for action around bionics and assistive technologies and augmentation of human capabilities so that it is used correctly.
At no time did you think about throwing in the towel? Oh, no. The truth is that I think it is fascinating the path that opened before me. I love the creative process, I love innovation. Every day is a new day. Every day is different and every day I see new things. No, I'm not going to give up; No, I'm not going to stop what I'm doing. After what happened to me I have improved a lot and sometimes I have asked myself: 'If I had a magic wand, would I put biological legs instead of the bionic ones?' And the answer is no. No, because it's so interesting to have a part of your body that you can custom-design, mold and manufacture. A part of your body that, in addition, improves with age, instead of the deterioration and degeneration that comes with aging. When I'm 80 or 110, my legs will be better than the biological legs of an 18-year-old boy; Have you improved your brand or your technique in the climbs you continue to do? Well, no, but I have an ambition: I want to climb to a very rigorous and almost professional level again. I have new technologies that I want to apply for climbing, to really expand my capabilities and apply them to the vertical world. I hope that great things will emerge in the future.
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