Borgwatch: ITAP prosthetics

[andygates]

"Intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthesis" - ITAP - is doing the rounds of the news media right now as Kira Mason (wot was blowed up in the London bombings) and her boffins wave their her new arm and their new technique at the world.  In a nutshell, it's a good, strong, non-rejecting non-infecting metal-to-bone-through-skin graft.  Part of it is nifty coatings on the titanium rod that's inserted into the bone where it passes through skin; the other part is the cunning antler-model fusion section, where a basket-shaped piece allows flesh and bone to grow through the implant, making everything fused tight, slightly giving, and biologically calm. 

It ought to do away with harnesses and cuffs, none of which are really very good.  It's more sensitive, more precise, and able to handle heavier loads.  Combined with some of the nifty arm tech coming out of Dean Kamen's skunkworks (a genius and some DARPA funding: two great tastes that taste great together), things are looking up.