Bionic-legged man climbs 103-story Chicago tower

A 31-year-old man channeled Steve Austin - not the wrestler but the fictional Six Million Dollar Man - as he made history last Sunday by climbing 103 stories of Chicago's Willis tower using a mind-controlled bionic leg.

 

Zac Vawter became the first person to achieve such a feat, thanks to the artificial limb that uses targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR), tech site The Verge said, citing an Associated Press report.

 

"With the bionic leg, it’s simple, I take stairs like I used to, and can even take two at a time," it quoted Vawter as saying.

 

The Verge said he completed the climb in 53 minutes and nine seconds.

 

It noted TMR is a technique that connects nerves severed in an amputation to other viable muscles.

 

For Vawter, the nerves that control his missing lower leg were "rerouted" to his hamstring, which control the prosthetic leg's movements.

 

Leading the research effort for Vawter’s bionic leg is the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), the University of New Brunswick, Vanderbilt University, MIT, and URI.

 

The Department of Defense’s Army Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center funded the project.

 

$8 million leg

 

Vawter’s leg cost $8 million and weighs 10 pounds.

 

It has two motors that power the knee and ankle separately.

 

When Vawter pushes on the leg to stand up, it pushes back, propelling him upward,

 

A team led by the RIC Center for Bionic Medicine had introduced the "bionic" limbs, or myoelectric prostheses, in 2005.

 

The Verge said former electrical lineman Jesse Sullivan was outfitted with a "Bionic Arm" he could control with his thoughts.

 

Since then, the procedure has been performed on 50 people worldwide. — TJD, GMA News