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Hugh Herr

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Print Me a New Arm, Please - Bionics and 3D Printing add to a Revolution in Medicine

By Kim Bellard | April 6, 2016

I just realized that I hadn't ever really written about two hot trends in health care: bionics and 3D printing.  I better get to it before they become mainstream, or are superseded by something even newer. Let start with bionics.  According to Merriam-Webster, bionic means "having normal biological capability or performance enhanced by or as if by electronic or electromechancial devices."  Bionics is the science of this...Bionics is estimated to be an $8b market (2014), with a projected 13.2% CAGR that would bring it to $20.5b by 2020.   The artificial kidney market is said to account for some 60% of the market, with livers expected to be the fastest growing segment over the period.

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Which Bionic Limb to Prescribe? VA's Gait Lab Aims to Build Evidence-Based High-Tech Prosthetics

By Mitch Mirkin | May 27, 2016

Prosthetics has come a long way—witness the $35,000 computerized knee that sits on a table in Maikos' Gait and Motion Analysis Lab, coupled with a $30,000 bionic foot. The high-tech components are awaiting testing with Veteran amputees who come to the lab. Some have lost a leg to an IED or rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq or Afghanistan—or perhaps to a mine or mortar blast decades ago in Vietnam. Others have lost a foot or leg in an accident, or to diabetes or vascular disease. The purpose of the tests is twofold: to help determine the best prescription for the Veterans, and to gather research data. Along with gait abnormalities, Maikos studies functional outcomes such as walking speed and distance.

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