Got a bone to pick with Health Insurance?

A new procedure to turn blocks of wood into artificial bones has been developed by Italian scientists, who plan to implant them into large animals, and eventually humans.

It is amazing how innovative advances in medical technology are. Imagine, just a few years ago we were hacking off peoples legs with handsaws and only gin and tonic as an anesthetic. Look at how this new process works:

To create the bone substitute, the scientists start with a block of wood — red oak, rattan and sipo work best — and heat it until all that remains is pure carbon, which is basically charcoal.

The scientists then spray calcium over the carbon, creating calcium carbide. Additional chemical and physical steps convert the calcium carbide into carbonated hydroxyapatite, which can then be implanted and serves as the artificial bone.

The entire process takes about one week and costs about $850 for a single block. One block translates to about one bone implant.

One week for a new limb. The procedure itself is even relatively inexpensive and could save lots of money for patients and Health Insurance companies. I am looking forward to this type of technology, imagine if people could have complex limbs such as hands restructured out of wood. This is one step closer to cybernetics. We need more efficient metals to be used for these purposes, that way we could even move into mechanical augmentation of human beings allowing us to surpass our physical limitations. My biggest request is for a heads up display inside the human eye. I can’t wait!