ALMOST HUMAN+

BY LUCIAN PAVALOI

ENG3094D BLUE SKY BRIEF DISCURSIVE ESSAY

ALMOST HUMAN+
BY LUCIAN PAVALOI
Worldwide we are already dealing with many cases of amputations and this number will increase over the years, I strongly believe that around the year 2030, as a result of numerous accidents and diseases such as diabetes, a growing number of people will require more transtibial prostheses but there will also be people using it in exchange to their healthy limbs. At some point, the technology will be able to augment the human body more than the nature intended. In this context I am developing a conceptual transtibial prosthesis according to the scenario stated above. In the following paragraphs, I will provide my reasons for saying so.
From the ancient pyramids to World War I, the prosthetic field has morphed into a sophisticated example of man's determination to do better. The evolution of prosthetics is a long and storied history, from its primitive beginnings to its sophisticated present, to the exciting visions of the future. As in the development of any other field, some ideas and inventions have worked and been expanded upon, such as the fixed-position foot, while others have fallen by the wayside or become obsolete, such as the use of iron in a prosthesis. The long and winding road to the computerized leg began about 1500 B.C. and has been evolving ever since. There have been many refinements to the first peg legs and hand hooks that have led to the highly (Evolution of prosthetics, n.d.) individualized fitting and casting of today's devices. But to appreciate how far the prosthetics field has come, we must first look to the ancient Egyptians.

My design project will address to those who have an amputated limb below the knee and are looking for a technological improved high-end prosthesis that will simulate the appearance of a natural limb so they will fit into society and not be labeled as disabled persons. The project will also be addressed to those individuals with perfectly healthy limbs but who are looking to augment their body. The prosthesis will allow them to achieve with better results tasks that for a healthy individual will require more energy and in this manner they could see themselves as technological improved humans. The surface finish of the prosthesis will

replicate the human limb as with the aid of 3D printing technology, natural skin, tissue and cells will be possible. The mechanisms inside the prosthesis will be made out of 3D printed light weight titanium and carbon fiber for lightweight and wear resistance and the whole mechanism will be powered by high capacity batteries and controlled by the healthy nerves at the end of the stump and connected further on to the brain nerves.

(2030 H+ Prosthetic, Lucian Pavaloi) Based on the current exponential dates available I anticipate stated in the Range of Motion Project Website (2012) a market size of 3.3 million users by the year 2030. This concept could be available for a retail price of 5000 and will allow the company to achieve a profit of roughly 8 million in 3 years time while a second generation for this product will start developing after the second half of the second year of sales. Firstly, considering that, as long as there are no disasters on a huge scale up to 2030, it is very probable that the number of amputations worldwide will keep increasing. According to Range of Motion Project Website (2012), Many countries do not keep records of the number of people with amputations or their causes. The causes of amputation vary greatly from region to region around the world. The three main causes of amputation are disease, trauma and congenital deformities. Disease and trauma are the most common causes and also Trauma accounts for approximately 30% of new amputations. In countries with a recent history of war or civil unrest, trauma can account for up to 80% or more of all amputations. In many of these countries landmines have become a major problem. There are over 100 million landmines in more than 60 nations around the world. United Nations Organization data indicates that mines kill or disable over 150 people each week. Often injuries involve multiple limbs, the chest, genitals and the face . Another common

cause of amputations are vascular diseases, diabetes and tumors. In industrialized countries like the United States and Denmark, disease causes approximately 65% of all amputations performed each year. This is not true of many developing countries where trauma is the main cause of amputation. In general those individuals who have amputations due to disease are older with the amputation usually occurring after age 60. Of the diseases that cause amputation, vascular disease with poor circulation is the most common. This disease limits the flow of arterial blood to the lower extremities causing ulcers and gangrene, which can lead to amputation. Diabetes is another common cause of limb loss. There are an estimated 135 million people with diabetes in the world. Complications of diabetes decrease the circulation and sensation in the limbs. This can result in ulcers and infection that may lead to amputation. Tumors of bone, muscle and skin account for a small portion of disease related amputation. (ibid). If we closely analyse the data we will notice that the most frequent level of amputation is below the knee amputation (transtibial) followed in frequency by above the knee amputation (transfemoral). In addition, Diabetes is the worlds most costly epidemic according to authors Caroline Dewing & Tim Jones of Future Agenda: The World In 2020, page 53-59 (2011) and The world Diabetes Foundation estimates that 285 million people corresponding to 6.4% of the worlds adult population already suffer from diabetes. That number is expected to grow to 438 million by 2030, corresponding to 7.8% of the adult population (ibid) and The diabesity challenge is real and tangible. If an epidemic is to be avoided, many say that drastic action is required, fast. Informed healthcare experts see that many economies have a diabetes time bomb to deal with, one that requires concerted approaches across many fronts (ibid). However, there is another side to this picture, one where our problems could still be solved in time. I believe that picture is represented by a better health care in the future. This affirmation can be backed up by taking a short look at what is happening in the present: doctors will get more experienced and based on intensive research and the use of a very powerful tool (3D Printing), they get better results and can now be able to perform complex and life-saving procedures that can save someones life, procedures that once were not possible according to John Graber, et al. 2011, that leads to the conclusion that the health care will bloom. In addition to that, a few number of examples of remarkable people that have done remarkable work: M.D. Anthony Atala has managed to print a kidney and other body parts using human cells collected from the patient and a 3d printer that is building the human organism using patients own cells so that his body wont reject the organism after the surgery according to TED, 2010, Anthony Atala: Growing new organs [video online] (TED 2010); Dean Kamel is working on a wide range of angle movements artificial limb with tactile fingertips (TED 2007)and one of the other important persons according to TED, 2007, Dean Kamen: New prosthetic arm for veterans [video online], Hugh Herr who is developing his own artificial legs and keeps upgrading them up to the point when he values them more than its biological ones (ibid). The world of medicine had got so far and its still ascending until we will all get better faster and easier with the use of 3D Printing according to Tanya Lewis, February 04, 2013. For those who have the will and the resources in the very close future it will be possible to complete many complex tasks that some time ago were considered even impossible. Victims of burnt skin will be able to get new 3d printed skin again, people that lost an ear, nose, eye or any other body part will be able to feel complete again with the extended use of the 3d scanner and the 3d printer. These new technologies not only

allow us to fix many of our impairments but also offer us the chance to study in further detail diseases such as cancer or diabetes and examples such as this confirms it as follows: Researchers are getting an unprecedented look at how cancer cells attack the human liver over time, thanks to the help of a 3D bioprinter. Researchers at Organovo have been able to maintain viable liver cells created with a NovoGen MMX 3D Bioprinter in petri dishes for 40 days. The standard is about 48 hours by creating the cells through conventional methods. Organovo researchers were able to push that time period out to five days last Spring and have recently announced their ability to sustain them for over a month according to John Graber (2013). Secondly, there are some that agree with the idea of an improved health care standards for the next years and that will bring some benefits along but the reality might be slightly different, Enhanced functionality will shift from an external add-on to an integrated capability to provide the option for superhuman performance according to Caroline Dewing & Tim Jones, Future Agenda , page 53-59 (2011), so the future relates to the advances being made in replacement organs and limbs. Different people have varied perspectives on where this is going and what the mass impacts will be. At some point the high-tech developments that have taken place in prosthetics over the past few years, which have allowed people to regain near full limb movement (ibid). We could take this even further and think about the possibility of enhancing the human body, a term better known as H+, as some futurists use it to describe an enhanced version of humanity. These could all be only good news up to the point when someone decides to use this technology in a negative manner, for example to create or enhance super soldiers with destruction purposes but as long as we consider that these innovations will provide positive support, we can imagine individuals wearing my conceptual prosthesis to help them gain the movement freedom of a healthy individual and perform tasks in the same way or even with better efficiency thanks to the low energy required for the prosthesis to perform them. Also, in this topic we will also have to discuss the ethical and moral principles and the correlations with transhumanism. As long as the main idea is to help other people by giving them the possibility of having all the limbs again, this might be ok but there is no guarantee that there wont ot hers to use this technology in their own advantage. Some will relate to religion and how and why the human was originally created and for what purpose and will probably hold their believes. Transhumanists engage in interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and evaluating possibilities for overcoming biological limitations by drawing on futurology and various fields of ethics. Unlike many philosophers, social critics, and activists who place a moral value on preservation of natural systems, transhumanists see the very concept of the specifically "natural" as problematically nebulous at best, and an obstacle to progress at worst according to Bostrom, Nick & Sandberg, Anders (2007). In keeping with this, many prominent transhumanist advocates refer to transhumanism's critics on the political right and left jointly as "bioconservatives" or "bioluddites", the latter term alluding to the 19th century anti-industrialisation social movement that opposed the replacement of human manual labourers by machines according to Hughes, James (2002). Many believe that transhumanism can cause unfair human enhancement in many areas of life, but specifically on the social plane. This can be compared to steroid use where if one athlete uses steroids in sports he has an advantage over those who do not. The same scenario can happen when people have certain neural implants that give them an advantage in the work place and in educational aspects According to Tennison, Michael (2012).

So, on one side there are those individuals who support innovation and technology and will go as far as replacing healthy limbs with artificial improved ones and on the other side there will be those who will appeal to the ethics side of this, considering that this is not the way things should develop over time and that the human is to stay as natural as it was created from the start. I personally believe that if I did not support the H+ concept and embracing the technology and the idea that the human is meant to evolve as well as any other living organism, it would mean that the future will no longer give us the hope of a better life and well as an easier life and that this rejection of technology and innovation will only hold us back. This is one of the reasons I strongly believe that my project is fitting the supposed scenario I have just stated and supported with real data available now and most likely it is going to be a solution for the year 2030 when the world will definitely not going to be the same, trends will change, fashion will change, humans will change and so will the technology and medical field, all these allowing us to hope for a better future and an advanced human, why not, even H+. As a conclusion, given the pros and cons explained I strongly believe that around the year 2030, as a result of numerous accidents and diseases such as diabetes, a growing number of people will require more transtibial prostheses but there will also be people using it in exchange to their healthy limbs. At some point, the technology will be able to augment the human body more than the nature intended and some of these will be achieved by using concepts like mine, a high technology prosthesis that will allow you to be whatever you want: a saved ex-disabled person now walking and viewed as a normal individual or a H+ individual, both admired and different at some extent by the rest of the world but at peace with himself.

Bibliography:

Bostrom, Nick & Sandberg, Anders (2007). The Wisdom of Nature: An Evolutionary Heuristic for Human Enhancement (PDF). Retrieved 2007-09-18 [Accessed 02/12/2013] Caroline Dewing & Tim Jones, Future Agenda: The World In 2020, page 57-59, page 53-57,United Kingdom
2011

[Evolution of prosthetics] n.d. [image online] Available at: < http://www.amputeecoalition.org/inmotion/nov_dec_07/history_prosthetics01.jpg> [Accessed 01/12/2013]. - See more at: http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/nov_dec_07/history_prosthetics.html Hughes, James (2002). The politics of transhumanism. Retrieved 2006-02-26 [Accessed 03/12/2013] John Graber (2013), Organovo Using 3D Bioprinting to Push Cancer Research to New Levels, Available from: <http://www.3dprinterworld.com/article/organovo-using-3d-bioprinting-push-cancer-researchnew-levels> [Accessed 03/12/2013] LiveScience (2013) | 7 Cool Uses of 3D Printing in Medicine | Printing Organs & Regenerative Medicine [ONLINE] Available from: <http://www.livescience.com/26853-3d-printing-medicine.html> [Accessed 03/12/2013] Pavaloi, L., 2013, United Kingdom 2013, 2030 H+ Prosthetic, [electronic rendering], (Lucian Pavaloi own private collection) Range of Motion Project (2012), Available from: <rompglobal.org/prosthetics101.html>,[ Accessed
11/25/2013]

Tennison, Michael (2012). Moral transhumanism: the next step 37 (4). J Med Philos. pp. 405416 TED (2010) Anthony Atala: Growing new organs [video online] Available from: [Accessed 03/12/2013]. See more at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SfRgg9botI TED (2007), Dean Kamen: New prosthetic arm for veterans [video online] Available at: [Accessed 03/12/2013]. - See more at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiJzJ771vDw TED (2007), Hugh Herr: TEDMED 2010 [video online] Available at: [Accessed 03/12/2013]. - See more at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AoRmlAZVTs