Bionic feet for amputee cat (BBC) {new technology}

[eppur_se_muova]

A cat that had its back feet severed by a combine harvester has been given two prosthetic limbs in a pioneering operation by a UK vet.

The new feet are custom-made implants that "peg" the ankle to the foot. They are bioengineered to mimic the way deer antler bone grows through the skin.

The operation - a world first - was carried out by Noel Fitzpatrick, a veterinary surgeon based in Surrey.

His work is explored in a BBC documentary called The Bionic Vet.

The prosthetic pegs, called intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics (Itaps) were developed by a team from University College London led by Professor Gordon Blunn, who is head of UCL's Centre for Biomedical Engineering.
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The Itap technology is being tested in humans and has already been used to create a prosthetic for a woman who lost her arm in the July 2005 London bombings.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10404251.stm

[Booster]

1. Now, dammit, I'm crying. What a great story & a beautiful cat.

[mike_c]

2. that was one of the most awesome things I have ever seen....

Wow!

[kestrel91316]

3. Way cool!!

[MisterP]

4. watch out Sen. Frist... nt

[The Doctor.]

6. Now Frist will start turning out Fem-Cats!

(No one'll get that one)

[katandmoon]

5. K&R...that was wonderful...thanks for posting

[Timbuk3]

7. I love kitties

Thanks to the doc for doing that for Oscar.

[backscatter712]

8. There's a lot of uses for that technology.

Basically, the innovation is a metal device that attaches directly to the bone, and comes out through the skin, but has something on its surface that the skin will grow into and bond with, so there's no open wound and no possibility of infection.

That's useful in humans for amputees, and also for things like external fixators for fractures, other things that have to go through the skin.

[eppur_se_muova]

9. I was thinking they had solved that problem with the artificial heart ...

the air hoses needed to pass through the patient's chest wall, and the material used was inspired by horns/nails.

Of course, this is a connection to metal, so that's different right there.