Friday, June 25, 2010

Oscar's new paws



Even the smallest cat is a masterpiece*(...feet or no.)

*Da Vinci

17 comments:

T said...

Okay, that last minute had me tearing up. That was so sweet. Shame BredaCat wasn't here to watch with me.

Alan said...

WOW! Absolutely amazing.

Science, fuck yeah!

Scott McCray said...

Wow. How totally cool is that?
Dammit...must have somethin' in my eyes, yeah that's it.

DixieLaurel said...

WOW! I almost cried when Oscar jumped!

Jenny said...

oh, that's beautiful. What an awesome team.

How cool is it, that we live in such a place and time it's entirely possible to develop such new treatments for cats even, let alone people?

Now just rocks. :)

Will said...

Might have worked better if the Doc had not wrapped the tape onto the walking surface of the pads. Actually, he shouldn't have put any tape on them at all. Taping the sides makes them less flexible. The cat seemed to be tiptoeing around, like the floor was slippery. Replaying it showed the tape on the bottom, and since it looks like duct tape, that stuff is slippery.

Very neat process. Those feet need a re-design, though. First iterations of designs are usually course, or very simple. Quite often it's sole purpose is to prove a concept. And, having someone modify your design (the tape), and reduce it's capability is very common. And frustrating!

Anonymous said...

"Those feet need a re-design, though."

The great part is that the redesign can happen without operating on Oscar. You can almost make Oscar's feet with a trip to Home Depot. Making feet more sophisticated than a hardware store run is doable with modestly-priced CNC equipment. Oscar can get a newer generation of feet design, and more can be learned.

Anonymous said...

...and yeah. I got choked up.

Joat said...

Getting the cats body to accept the metal implants sticking out could mean new types of prosthetics for people, I've got to guess skin irritation from traditional prosthetic mounts is a problem. Adding an external hard mount could be a good thing.

dr mac said...

Vets, as a group, are damn fine special people.

HeroHog said...

That makes me proud to be a human. That we can bring that to other animals who would otherwise live a... trying life at best just warms my heart.
I agree about the tape. That was a bad Idea. a black marker would have made more sense although that might have compromise the materials properties as well.
Still, it is great news! The ability for the skin to heal and adhere to the metal post is amazing and brings so much hope to those who have prosthetics!

Roberta X said...

Just bear in mind, cat's skin heals fast and aggressively (which is why an injured cat should be watched for abcesses. That makes them a better prospect for this kind of work...which made me tear right up.

Mad Saint Jack said...

Update:

Pics & vid of the upgraded paws.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/
article/2010-06/british-amputee
-cat-first-get-bone-grafted-
exoprosthetic-paws

h/t to Ace of Spades HQ

Dixie said...

Outstanding. I can only imagine what the next few iterations of the design will look like. Oscar might soon be The Bionic Mouser.

Unknown said...

A beautiful thing. Who wants to guess as to whether or not this was a result of Free Government Heathcare? I, for one, think not...

On a Wing and a Whim said...

That's wonderful!

I hope he has a long happy life ahead, and that the treatment and advances con help out other critters and folks down the line!

Will said...

The bolt on technique may already be in use for humans. Got a friend who just lost his 2nd foot to the complications of diabetes. He was talking about the docs were going to install screws in his stumps to mount his new prosthetics. If I understood him correctly, it would be something like what I see in that cat video.
With two artificial lower legs, he tells me they have to use a different type than he was able to use while having one real foot for balance.