Being a Cat Person, Mr Worf, this makes me smile. Thank you. On Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 5:11 AM, Mr. Worf <hellomahog...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Bionic feet for amputee cat > > Page last updated at 00:51 GMT, Friday, 25 June 2010 01:51 UK > > - E-mail this to a > friend<http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/email/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10404251.stm> > - Printable > version<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10404251.stm#> > > > Advertisement<http://faq.external.bbc.co.uk/questions/bbc_online/adverts_general> > > Oscar gets to try his new feet > > 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 cat, named Oscar, was referred to Mr Fitzpatrick by his local vet in > Jersey, following the accident last October. Oscar was struck by the combine > harvester whilst dozing in the sun. > > 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. > > Professor Blunn and his team have worked in partnership with Mr Fitzpatrick > to develop these weight-bearing implants, combining engineering mechanics > with biology. > > Mr Fitzpatrick explained: "The real revolution with Oscar is [that] we have > put a piece of metal and a flange into which skin grows into an extremely > tight bone." > > "We have managed to get the bone and skin to grow into the implant and we > have developed an 'exoprosthesis' that allows this implant to work as a > see-saw on the bottom of an animal's limbs to give him effectively normal > gait." > > Professor Blunn told BBC News the idea was initially developed for patients > with amputations who have a "stump socket". > > "This means they fix their artifical limb with a sock, which fits over the > stump. In a lot of cases this is sucessful, but you [often] get rubbing and > pressure sores." > > 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. > > "The intriguing thing with Oscar was that he had two implants - one in each > back leg, and in quite an unusual site," Professor Blunn told BBC News. > > He said that the success of this operation showed the potential of the > technology. > > "Noel has some brilliant ideas," he added. "And we're continuing to work > closely with him to develop new technologies." > > The Bionic Vet is on BBC 1 at 2245 BST on Wednesday > > > -- > Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! > Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ > > -- "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
