Artificial muscle has been around for several years. The California scientists used a three-layer muscle from SRI International. Sandwiched between two layers of charged, FDA-approved black silicon, sits a soft acrylic or silicon center. When an electric current passes through the silicon it draws the two outer layers together, squishing the soft inner layer into four to five times its original size. This draws the sling back and closes the eye. A similar set up could be used to draw up the corners of the mouth into a smile. There are still challenges to overcome before the technique is used in humans. An effective battery system, which right now will likely be the size of a quarter, to power the artificial muscle still needs to be tested. The artificial muscles requires very little energy, but more than the electrical impulse traveling down the nerve provides. Successful battery systems already exist in pacemakers, it's just a matter of hooking up the power source say scientists. A bigger challenge that the scientists need to overcome is connecting natural nerve to artificial muscle. No one has really solved that problem yet, said Annjoe Wong-Foy of SRI, but they are trying to solve it quickly so people can benefit from this new surgical technique. "There are lots of prosthetic devices to help people who have lost arms and legs," said Wong-Foy. "But there aren't many methods to restore animation to the face." Related Links: |
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