Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / July 24, 1986, edition 1 / Page 8
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Community Prosthetic arms and legs 'feel' DURHAM, NC? Prosthetic arms and legs that "feel" are helping am putees walk and grasp better at Duke University Medical Center. Using a process called "sensory feedback" Duke professors James H. McElhaney and Frank W Clippinger implant electrical devices in the stumps of amputees to let them know how much pressure is being exerted on an artificial limb. The process works like this: Physi cians place a reaio receiver in the amputee's stump, connecting it to a peripheral nerve. Biomechanical en gineers place sensors that detect force or pressure in the artificial limb. This pressure is transmitted to the implanted radio receiver, which in turn sends a signal to the brain, allowing the amputee to feel as if he has a foot or hand. "The process gives the person a sense of pressure on the artificial hand or foot, to which he can react to move me prosuteuc umo, enaDiing him to walk or to hold something," said McElhaney, professor of bi omedical engineering and chairman of Duke's biomedical engineering de partment. "The implant picks up radio waves that stimulate nerves on the surface of the stump," he said. "So by apply ing pressure on the artificial limb, the amputee creates a sensation sim ilar to what he would feel if the limb were normal. How much sensation depends on the location of the elec trode and the frequency of voltage." Sensory feedback is different from myoelectric technology, another sys tem used to activate prosthetic limbs. Myoelectric prostheses re spond to muscle contractions in the stump that give off electric signals that activate a battery-powdered mo tor. "The amputee must watch the myoelectric arm or leg to find out what it is doing," McElhaney said. "With sensory feedback, he can actu aly feel what is happening." In a paper recently submitted to "Annals," an international biomedi cal engineering journal, McElhaney and Clippinger, professor of ortho paedic surgery and director of Duke Rehabilitation Services, wrote, "A major problem in lower limb ampu tees is the perception of the position and configuration of their prosthetic legs.. .In place of the multitude of sen sations associated with the use of a normal leg, the amputee must learn to interpret subtle variations in stump pressure, balance and visual cues. "Tasks that wree simple and coor dinated prior to the amputation are now difficult and ungraceful. Particular difficulties are associated with walking on soft sand, rough and uneven terrain and in poorly lighted areas where visual feedback is un available. Sensory feedback is useful for prosthetic limbs to provide both position and force information." McElhaney said sensory feedback in a prosthetic hand allows the ampu tee not only to grasp an object, but also to ascertain how hard or soft it is. Sensory feedback is still in the re search stage and is not available to, or suitable for all amputees, he said. So far, 32 carefully chosen amputees have participated in the research project at Duke. Benefits of sensory feedback in clude improved lifestyle, balanced and prosthetic handling. But there are drawbacks. The procedure in volves elective surgery and is expen sive to install and maintain. "There is a question of whether this process benefits the amputee sufficiently for the trouble he must go through to enjoy it," the professor said. "I think that many people who have had amputations are reluctant to have any more surgery. And coat is a consideration relation to bene fits." McElhaney and Clippinger hope their research will lead to a less ex pensive process that uses computer chips, a process that could have widespread use. "We have already demonstrated quite clearly that one can make an external connection with the periph eral nervous system that can be in terpreted by the brain in the same way that any other sensation is inter preted," McElhaney said. The professors are also working on a proposal to develop a micro- proc essed control system that would re spond to voice commands from a quadriplegic. The voice command would activate an electrode array to simulate muscles in the quadripleg ic's arm, for example, so he could perform such simple tasks as feeding himself. Sensory feedback might also have non-prosthetic uses for the future, McElhaney said. "It might be used for situations in which a person would have to react to some sensor derived stimulus and would need the ability to perceive and digest infor mation quickly. For example, if the fighter pilot of a spaceship were linked to sensors in the ship's control system, he would feel what the ship was doing much more quickly that he could perceive it by visual means." McElhaney said multiple-channel sensors with micro circuits might provide sensations that people don't normally get. Downtown development seminar Main Street: National Town Meet ing, a conference on downtown revi talization, will offer civic, govern ment, preservation and arts representatives an opportunity to ex plore emerging issues and innovative policies in economic development Sept. 4-6 in Winston-Salem. The National Town meeting is co sponsored by the National Main Street Center in National Trust for Historic Preservation and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The conference will focus on small city development with more than 30 concurrent sessions. The sessions are divided into four tracks, with tow fo cusing on the day-to-day manage ment of downtowns and the long range planning required to make central business districts attractive and viable. These session topics will include promoting Main Street busi ness recruitment, parking manage ment reusing old buildings, central ized retail management and tourism. The two other tracks will highlight ways to utilize, develop and manage ment cultural facilities and assets. From theaters to green spaces, from multi-use facilities to festivals, the sessions will examine how to plan, fi nance, design and manage successful projects. Anyone with an interest in the com munity is invited. Among those ex pected to attend are Main Street pro ject managers and state coordinators, business and civic leaders, local elected and appointed officials, state government represen tatives, community developers and planners, chamber of commerce ex ecutives, preservationists and rep resentatives of state and community arts agencies. The National Main Street Center is a program of the National Trust es tablished in 1900 to stimulate down town revitalization within the context of historic preservation. The Center provides direct technical assistance to states and communities interested in local development. The Center also conducts research, produces slide shows and videotapes about specific revitalization issues, pro duces publications and reports on re vitalization and serves as a clearing house for information on small-city redevelopment issues. The N.C. Arts Council provides grants and services to artists, arts organizations and arts supports in the state. The Council's mission is to enrich the cultural life of the state by nurturing and supporting excellence of the arts and by providing opportu nities for early North Carolinian to experience the arts. The registration deadline for the National Town Meeting is Aug. 15. The registration fee is $200, or $150 for National Main Street Network members. For more information, or to register, write the National Main Street Center, National Trust for His toric Preservation, 1785 Massachu setts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Brochures oh the National Town Meeting are Available from the N.C. Arts Council;1 Raleigh, N.C. Oaulor ol ;aon* ? IMOS THURSDAY "VAMP"*, 7:15-9:15 STARTS FRIDAY TUNING SCARED (H) 1 HILO OVU TMHO JUIT 11 "Ferris Bueiler s Day Off" (PO-11) SHOWS DAILY 7:05-9:05 SAT - SUN. 3:05-7:05-9:05 EVERT THURSDAY IS ?AMAIN NIOHT SOON "Legal Eagle" "Karate Kid' M SOON Karate Kid II" A & RUNNING SCARED GREGORY HINES FQ BILLY CRYSTAL MATTHEW BRODERICK FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF I I HELD OVER I I1*0,13! Radiator problems? See your Radiator Aid Station. We're specialists. 1. Complete Flush 2. Cleaning * Repairing 3. Recoring ? Replacement Byrum Implement & Truck Co. 482-2151 Hifkway IT North Edcaloo. N.C. Why take all the fun out of living? Have money left to enjoy life when I build for you! Comp??? mylflflt 40th Anniversary Mo*. Compwe myiCBtf momNy payments, financed lor onty 2D (f*3T 30) years See tor yourself how much youl have toft to spend on (he good Me. TTwm weHQT eher homes At my TJCA $25,995 cash 2 bedrooms 1 bal >250 .<0 par mo (240 paymanto) low, package prices they wM be finished 90% complete including lorced-tfr, central healing. Just ratal your - ? choice of floor ctMntiQ, paint _ , ,v rterkx wafls and trim, connect av' outside uWWee and move in. HERTS WHATS MCUJOEO: ? riouM ooinpwwy nmsnea outs<oe (no walks, driveways. or landscaping) ? Pier and pwcMt base foundation ? Double floors ? Complete wiring to local codes ? Ml plumbing, inducing kitchen, and each bath ?Mlh tub and ai, i, ? .a ? ? |/;| r han n II I "I katkMAm nla tnowar ? Kitcnen ana Damroom caotnets A -* Hi M I-, ,, -A. ? wans nnisneo wnn wan ooara <Baay vo be peinted ? Shsiflhing under sldtoo ? IneuMon: 3W (R-11) in w? s and floors, 6" (R-19) in ceiling ? M jan, inside doors and trim ? Central. \ torced-eir healing too may cnoos* ^oaioonai option*, such ?? air oondWontng, at ?rtra coat lloaMf. at our ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL pacfcaga prioa*. you may not (Mai* any of the abow* Item*. All Package Price# on our 90%compM? ! homaahavebeen J DraatteaMy Reduced! J MADISON 4b?*oonw-2Mht $39,995 CMhptK $385-90 par mo. (240 pnyrrwr*) OPEN EVERY WEEKEND Vn, win opan Mnr day Including <wg?andr 80. com# In. Chooaa ? homa M you Ha hm ovar 20 wrtiH. Wtel tguraacoatprioatoryou, bufton *xir praparty to ahnoat any ataga you dwoaa up to #0* oompMa. 10% anoualpwcantag* rate Fixed-Mortgage Financing No Down Payment No Pointa and No Closing Cotta ' (to qu?MM praparty ownan) HOMH Call Toll Frw 1-800-4-WALTER (1-8MMQ8-6637) lor brochure or v*it our diaptay park ELIZABETH CITY, NC 4 Hwy. >7 South Fall registration set j Registration for Fall Quarter classes at College of The Albemarle for both day and evening students will begin on Thursday, July 31, continuing through Friday, August 8. The student development and busi ness offices at the college will be open each day, Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. until 8 p.m., according to Mary Louise Brown, COA registrar. She said Fri day hours will be from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Brown said all new and returning students should complete their regis tration as soon as possible. The first two days of the period have been set aside to accommodate returning stu &uiinftell Monument (Eotnpang Monuments Markers Mausoleums Avoilable in granite (of various colors) or marble We Are Direct Factory Representatives Call Larry Swindell 509 Dobbs St. 426-7311 dents. On Thursday, those whose last names begin with letters A through M will be processed. Those with last names beginning with letters N through Z will be registered on Fri day. The registrar said those students who are unable to register during the prescribed week will still have an op portunity to enroll after classes begin on Monday, September 8. "We will continue late registration through September 12," Brown said. Registration at the Dare County Center will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, May 27 and 28 be tween 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., and from S p.m. until 7:30 p.m. each day. Using light colors in a small room makes it seem larger. Winslow Auctions HAROLD WINSLOW 297-2658 BRENT WINSLOW 297-2839 "Auction Sales is Our Business. . .Not a Sideline." Photography by George We also copy any size color or black and white photograph 426-7274 lemortes
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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July 24, 1986, edition 1
8
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