War injuries inspire better prosthetics

After his Army unit stopped briefly along the Karbala highway, he approached a bunker and heard a loud explosion. At first, the Minnesota native thought it was enemy fire, but then a grim realization took hold: He'd stepped on a land mine, and, judging by the copious amount of blood coagulating near his left foot and lower leg, he knew the injury was serious.

Doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington ultimately amputated Stewart's leg at mid-shin. He is among about 460 amputees who have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, most of whom have been outfitted with high-tech prostheses.

Those prostheses use computers and artificial intelligence to anticipate movement.

The Iraq war is highlighting a small, once obscure, corner of medical technology: prosthetic limbs. Researchers are now developing "neural" artificial limbs that move when the brain tells them to. And much of the technology is being funded by the Department of Defense.

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