Avid Star Wars fans, among others, will be the first to appreciate the complexity and great significance of the DEKA Arm System, a new robotic arm for amputees. The robotic arm is the brainchild of DEKA Research and Development Corporation, whose founder Dean Kamen invented the popular Segway Personal Transportation device. Research for the robotic arm was funded in large part by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), receiving $40 million of a $100 million project to improve prosthetics. 

The arm has been dubbed ‘Luke’ after Luke Skywalker of the Star Wars series, who sports a robotic arm, having lost his in battle. The prosthetic arm by DEKA is a significant advancement from the metal hook, currently the standard for amputees. “It was designed to produce near-natural upper extremity control to injured people who have suffered amputations. This arm system has the same size, weight, shape and grip strength as an adult’s arm would be able to produce,” said Justin Sanchez, a program manager in DARPA’s biological technologies office.

The DEKA Arm System works using electromyogram electrodes that detect electrical signals produced as muscles contract. A computer processor in the arm then incorporates all the signals to produce up to 10 different movements by combining switches and sensors in the arm.  

Viable for use by individuals with limb loss at the shoulder joint, mid-upper arm and mid-lower arm, the DEKA Arm System allows individuals to complete complex tasks ranging from picking up small objects such as a grape, to using locks and keys, to even operating a hand drill.

The prosthetic advancement promises to be an overwhelmingly welcome incorporation into the lives of many individuals with upper extremity amputations. This includes the group of more than 1,800 U.S. war veterans who underwent major amputations as a result of injuries sustained from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.