Baby Steps

One small step for man...

     Before a new product or design makes its way into society, it needs to have all the glitches worked out and tested for any necessary improvements.  Hugh Herr and his BiOM T2 System has the potential to be the groundbreaking prosthetic, improving millions of amputees' lives.  Until that day comes, Hugh Herr is working hard to make his product ready and accessible to everyone.  Obviously technology this advanced will not come cheap, and right now there are some insurances that fail to cover Herr's' bionic legs.  Nothing will stop Hugh Herr from improving as many lives as possible, and just from watching him during his presentation on the TED Talk, I believe he has enough drive and passion to make his dream a reality.  

Herr declared that he is currently speaking with insurance companies in order to reach an agreement that will help make his prosthetic affordable for those who truly need it.  There could not be a better face of bionics than an amputee who refuses to live with limitations.  In fact, a women named Adrianne Haslet-Davis was a very talented dancer, but lost her left leg in the Boston marathon terrorist attack. Herr
made it his mission to get her back on the dance floor.  Herr states, “It was 3.5 seconds between the bomb blasts in the Boston terrorist attack.  In 3.5 seconds, the criminals and cowards took Adrianne off the dance floor.  In 200 days we put her back, we will not be intimidated, brought down, diminished, conquered or stopped by acts of violence” (Herr).  If Herr was running for president, I would certainly vote for him. It is so refreshing to see a person so dedicated and so driven to make a difference in the world, and is actually walking the walk, literally.  He knows what its like to be disabled, which is why I believe he will actually do the impossible and in the future, everyone will be walking on their human or bionic feet.  Obviously there is still work to be done, since it took 200 days for Herr and his MIT team to design a bionic leg for one single person, but just the thought that one day we will have bionic limbs specifically designed for our personal activities is crazy to think about. 

According to BiOM Personal Bionics, in order to get a personal customized prosthetic you have to dish out quite a bit of money, try $50,000.  Its almost like you are buying a really nice car, except you don't have to park it anywhere, which means no tickets, and you will use it every single day for the rest of your life. Right now, without the insurance companies covering Herr's bionic leg, not many amputees can afford this upgrade they desperately need.  In fact, amputees most likely live with their family or their spouse has to support them, because it difficult for them to work or land a job.  Now these BiOM T2 legs do run on a battery of course, giving the wearer 4-6 hours of usage, however it only takes 45 minutes to fully charge the leg after a full depletion of the battery, not bad.  I definitely wouldn't recommend running a marathon unless you know you can finish under 6 hours, good for you if you can. Still, for example, after taking a jog and meeting a friend for lunch, someone could go back home, charge their leg, while eating lunch, 45 minutes later, you're ready to do more.  At work, when the amputee is taking their lunch break, they could charge their bionic leg and finish the rest of their work day without any trouble.  Of course, there are still some things you can not do with these legs such as getting them wet, especially if you want to go swimming, make sure you are not wearing your expensive car around the water.

Slowly but surely, we will see bionic limbs worn by amputees of all ages, walking proudly with every step.  There are currently 100 amputees and 400 soldiers fitted with the BiOM T2 System.  That is 500 more lives that have been changed for the better by the hard work and determination of Hugh Herr.   What I hope to never see is people amputating their perfectly functioning limbs just so they can say they are "bionic man" and stand out from regular people.  We are all special in our own way, we do not need any bigger egos than we already have in our brains.  The only purpose of Herr's and many other's bionic limbs is to improve the lives of amputees who are struggling to live their life of limitation and disability.  Respect the technology and do not make these brilliant minds regret what they have created.