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Week 4


Reflecting upon the video lectures from this week, I found it very interesting to recognize how true it is that most scientific and medical advances are made as a result of war. Usually when we think of prosthetic limbs we think of people who lost an arm or leg. However, with the Third Hand Project that was talked about in lecture, they weren’t replacing any limbs but instead adding addition help.

Upon researching this further, the researcher was disappointment with the lack of accuracy that this robotic arm had and its lack of precision when receiving the muscle contractions from the hand. This is how I feel that prosthetic limbs vary whether they are supplementing or replacing a body part. My uncle had a prosthetic hand, because of medical complications when he was born. However, he always was so grateful for everything the mechanical hand could do and appreciated it even if it wasn’t perfect. The expectation that comes with the mechanical hand depends on the situation that the recipient is in.

I know this is a small piece of a lot of topics that we talked about in lecture, but it really resonated with me, and I feel as though my personal experience could add something important to the conversation. I think this analysis could also be related to plastic surgery, whereas someone getting a cleft palate surgery would probably be thrilled no matter what when they receive their new lips, but someone looking to reconstruct their fully functioning lips for aesthetic appeal may have higher expectations on how it should look. 











 “Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Repair.” Johns Hopkins Facial Plastic Surgery in Baltimore, MD, 13 Sept. 2017, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/otolaryngology/specialty_areas/facial_plastic_reconstructive_surgery/reconstructive_procedures/cleft_lip_palate_repair.html.
Dear, Alice. “TRUTH Behind Kylie Jenner's Transformation Exposed.” OK! Magazine, 16 Mar. 2018, www.ok.co.uk/lifestyle/beauty/1330061/kylie-jenner-before-and-after-plastic-surgery-boob-job-nose-job-lip-fillers.
Dear, Alice. “TRUTH Behind Kylie Jenner's Transformation Exposed.” OK! Magazine, 16 Mar. 2018, www.ok.co.uk/lifestyle/beauty/1330061/kylie-jenner-before-and-after-plastic-surgery-boob-job-nose-job-lip-fillers.
Mccann, Grace. “ We Reveal 5 Medical Marvels Introduced by 3D-Printing.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 30 Jan. 2017, www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4173846/We-reveal-5-medical-marvels-introduced-3D-printing.html.
Stelarc. “Stelarc.” Med in Art, www.medinart.eu/works/stelarc/.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 24, 2018 at 8:36 PM

    I really enjoyed reading about your personal connection to this week's topic. I also thought it was particularly interesting how so many advancements throughout history originated in or as a result of wars. Prosthetic limbs and plastic surgeries are great examples of the intersection of art, medicine, and technology.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shiqi WangMay 1, 2018 at 9:54 PM

    I agree with your idea that medical technologies have a positive impact on our societies. Even though those technologies are not perfect, they have made disability people’s lives much more convenient. For example, a person who lost an arm requires care by others before the emergence of prosthetic limbs. With prosthetic arm, that person could live by himself, which improves his life quality as well as improve his confidence.

    ReplyDelete

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