As a result of accidents, wars, diseases, infections, and many other things that you may not even imagine, there are many people that are constantly losing their vital parts of the body. Interestingly enough, there are many body parts that can be replaced thanks to advancement in the field of sciences.
Before now, Science is able to transplant one body part from one person to another. Things that could be transplanted are the Kidneys, heart, liver, and some other vital organs. Nevertheless, with serious advancement in health research, we are approaching the age of cyborgs as most body parts are now easy to replace. It is important to note that some of these parts could be planted to become part of the human system, while others are temporary, that means they can be taken off and fixed back when needed.
Here are some body parts that can be replaced.
1. Human Brains
There was a time when having a problem with the brain could simply mean the end of the world for one. But then, there is now a team of researchers in Austria that have been able to create a human brain from the lab making use of the stem cell.
Even though the brains they have created are miniature, the size of a nine-week-old foetus, there is nothing that is stopping it from thinking. In fact, the brain can grow, but that is unless it has blood supply.
The brain hasn’t gone into any skull yet, but it has opened up the possibility of brains to be replaced, just as it has opened an important ground for understanding brain function and diseases much better.
2. Bladder
This did not start with humans, but rather on dogs. Scientists were able to not only create a bladder, but also plant it into a dog, and this opened ways for what will now be known as Orthotopic neobladder reconstruction.
To create this bladder and have it planted into a human being, scientists will take out a tissue from the individual and recreate a bladder. The tissue is mostly from the bladder, but when the bladder is too damaged, doctors can go ahead and take out tissue from the small intestine.
With this advancement, Bladder cancer and other problems that the bladder could have are able to be controlled.
3. Eye
It is now not only possible to have an individual planted with new eyes, but also to have the new eyes with abilities to see again. The process of having the damaged eyes taken off and replaced is known as Enucleation.
The possibility to having the eyes removed and changed is thanks to the development of an artificial retina by researchers from the Weill Cornell Medical College. The process was first tried on mice and monkeys before coming to humans. On both mice and monkeys, there was a great success.
4. Bones
Among the body parts that can be replaced, this gets very interesting because it is not done in the same manner as others. This is because while in children the healing of the bones can be very natural and fast when one passes the teenage years, the healing needs to be influenced. Therefore with this process, the bone is not taken off and replaced. Rather, a substance is used to Injectable bone” can be used.
The substance is used to fill in for minor fractures as well as to provide for calcium phosphate or calcium sulfate that will fill in missing pieces of bone when injected into the affected area.
5. Limbs
This is among the most popular body parts that can be replaced. This technology is made possible thanks to bionic legs which have helped even double amputees to walk again. Although before now using these legs is not easy, scientists have been able to come up with bionic limbs that are controlled by thoughts as such one can easily work on them like natural limbs.
These legs are programmed to follow certain orders and because of that, there is still more work that is being done on them. For these legs to be used, one will need to have them charged.
6. Hand
That the human hand can be planted hasn’t been too much of a big deal because these hands do not come with special things like having the sense of touch. The prosthetic hands only served to fill space and other little things.
That said, there is a genuine effort by scientists to be able to work on the rosthesis that will function properly. The hand is coming with the capabilities of sending and receiving signals to the brain through a direct interface. Thanks to this a new phase on hand transplantation and hand prosthetics has started.
7. Artificial Pancreas
The pancreas is very important when it comes to the production of insulin. That is the problem that diabetic patients have when they can no longer produce the insulin needed by their bodies as a result of a problem with the pancreas.
With this artificial pancreas, your body is able to constantly have a supply of what your body needs as such you don’t have to worry that it will get short at any time. More importantly, it is able to constantly monitor your blood sugar level and it has got FDA approval.
8. Ears
Okay, we may take the ears for granted believing that if it falls off or anything happens it can be replaced. That is really untrue, until recently when thanks to 3d technology, ears have become parts of the body that are plantable.
More than just having the ears, they are also able to deliver a high sense of hearing for individuals. Once the mold is constructed using the image of one’s ears, it will be injected with living cells and then transplanted. As a result of the antennae printed into the ear, one can get to pick frequencies outside of the human range of hearing.
9. Heart Muscle
Heart problem has been said to be the major cause of death all over the world. This has posed a serious challenge for researchers to develop a heart that can beat on its own; something different from what donors give.
They have solved this riddle using stem cell. The thing, though, is that while the heart is able to beat on its own, it is beating at 40 to 50 beats per minute. This makes it very weak to pump blood. That said, the tissue from it can be used in repairing or patching a damaged heart.
10. Skin
Because of the nature of the job that is associated to it, the skin is always open to damage. This is even though it is highly important. What used to be is that skin from a different part of the body will be taken off to cover up for a delicate place that has damaged skin.
The new way out that researchers from Stanford University have come up with is another skin that can be designed to take place of the damaged one. They have been able to do this using a super-flexible, super-durable, and super-sensitive material. While they are still working on it, the chances is very high that this will join the league.
11. Fingers
As you will rightly guess since limbs and legs are among the body parts that that can be replaced, the finger is also one. This bionic finger is programmable and it comes to also serve as a storage device. The advanced prosthetics give amputees the opportunity to feel and touch with the finger.
