Science is Fun Fridays!

 

This is Mia, a bearded vulture who was found without a foot.

They're the largest flying bird, and as scavengers, landing is an important process which needs two good feet to maneuver successfully.

So the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery MedUni in Vienna, Austria worked to create a prosthetic using osseointegration.

Called a "Plug and Play" limb, the prosthesis is connected directly to the bone, and has been used to replace a human hand as well.

"Osseoperception provides direct intuitive feedback, thereby allowing natural use of the extremity for walking and feeding," says Dr. Oskar Aszmann of MedUni.

 The surgery was a success.  Mia attempted to walk after just three weeks, with full weight bearing at six weeks.

"Today the bearded vulture can once again land and walk using both feet, making it the first 'bionic bird.'" 

For bidirectional communication, a titanium plate is implanted in the bones and the nerves are wired with a novel system developed with MIT Harvard and Itegrum at Chalmers University.  A battery is placed in the prosthesis and can be easily removed for recharging.

Four male patients who had upper arm amputations have now received a bionic arm, and it may even be more by now.

Mia
MedUni