What Dean Kamen plans to show off

CARLSBAD, Calif.--Segway inventor Dean Kamen plans to show off one of his latest inventions at the D: All Things Digital conference on Thursday. Kamen, who has done much work in the medical field, will reveal a new kind of artificial arm that he says is vastly superior to existing prosthetics.

(Credit: Dean Kamen)

In a brief interview on Wednesday, Kamen told me what separates this new limb from past efforts is the depth of motion that it can offer. With just two days of training, said Kamen, the founder of Deka Research and Development, a soldier who lost both arms in Iraq was able to use the prosthetics to disassemble and then reassemble an M-16 rifle.

On my recent trip to Colombia, I saw some nonprofits doing some incredible work in the area of prosthetics legs--a particularly important project in Colombia where land mines continue to injure large numbers of people.

Kamen said that while mines tend to blow off legs, the improvised explosives used in Iraq tend to sever arms, a trickier limb to replicate. Anyway, he'll have more to say on his work on Thursday.

Click here for full coverage of the D: All Things Digital conference.

[dascha1]

Hats-off to the CAF team at IMF 70.3(r) Disney last week! One of the athletes finished before I did. Now let's see how the Olympics go for the efforts...

[sadchild]

was this intentional or just a P.C. boo-boo?

"what separates this new limb"

[Ina Fried]

That would be what happens on the 8th blog of the day after working 13 hours. Totally unintentional.
-Ina

[rmarsh01]

I do not know anything about the prosthetics limbs he invented but this guy is awesome. I love what is is doing with the FIRST organization. It is great to see grade school and high school students interested in science and technology.

Keep up the great work.

[JCPayne]

FIRST was awesome....... I'll no doubt always remember it.... P.S. anybody have one of those cool Dean Kamen clocks to sell? :-p

[JCPayne]

Sorry. I forgot because of that silly bank we have to say it as "US First "now... We can't call it just FIRST anymore.

I got involved in 100 Black Men of America's Atlanta chapter. Now I'm looking for role models that these kids can follow on twitter. If this makes any sense, maybe you can suggest one.

I checked out your site because it said "beyond digital" I was hoping for some stuff on ANN's but didn't get it. I discovered how neurons cooperate to form memories, which will be great for ANN's.

Greg Tuve: 404 982 0465.