Out on a Limb

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Out On A Limb explores the evolution of prosthetics and the exciting advances being made at the intersection of neuroscience, engineering, and robotics. From Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab and other leading universities, to the Amputee Coalition's camp for kids, what was once futuristic is occurring now and changing what it means to lose a limb. Advances in prosthetics always coincide with wars, but recent conflicts have spurred unprecedented funding, including the "Revolutionizing Prosthetics" project committed to the design of an entirely new type of robotic arm. At the same time breakthroughs in neuro-engineering, such as Targeted Muscle Innervation, allow amputees to control these prosthetics with their thoughts alone. Soldiers receive the most media attention and the most advanced prosthetics, but they are a fraction of the many millions around the world who have lost limbs to diabetes, other diseases, landmines, and natural disasters. In fact amputees are invisibly all around us. A science story and a human story, this documentary shows the impact of this transformative science, as revolutionary prosthetics move from the lab to the bodies of amputees, and particularly to children with limb loss, who stand to benefit the most.