bionics

Design and development of electronic or mechanical artificial systems that imitate those of living things. The bionic arm, for example, is an artificial limb (prosthesis) that uses electronics to amplify minute electrical signals generated in body muscles to work electric motors, which operate the joints of the fingers and wrist.

The first artificial eye that connects directly into the optic nerve was successfully implanted in 2000 for an initial trial. The eye was composed of a video camera, radio antenna, and microchip, and stimulated different parts of the optic nerve enabling visual sensations in the brain. Bionic ears work by replacing with electrodes the hairs in the ear that naturally convert sounds into electrical impulses. The first person to receive two bionic ears was Peter Stewart, an Australian journalist, who received his right ear in 1984 and his left in 1989.