Slowly Moving Toward the Star Wars Universe

Do you remember the scene at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, where Luke Skywalker receives his prosthetic hand? The fingers twitch, the mechanical tendons and muscles contract just by his thought alone. Reality is catching up with science fiction. Doctors and technicians have remapped control functions of Jesse Sullivan's neural electrical signals from his pectoral muscle region to control his prosthetic arm. Out of the 22 discreet arm motor functions, Sullivan has successfully remapped 4: “When I use the new prosthesis I just do things. I don’t have to think about it.” The research was funded by DARPA, who see the prosthetic developments as very hopeful for our returning veterans, many of whom have lost limbs from IED's. Good news for all those who have lost limbs.