In the movie “The Empire Strikes Back,” Luke Skywalker’s hand is severed in a battle with Darth Vader and replaced by a futuristic prosthetic. Now science fiction is becoming science fact as the Defense Department funds the development of the “Luke Arm,” which may replace limbs that veterans have lost in battle.
The lifelike arm, developed under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract awarded to New Hampshire-based Deka Research and Development, has undergone more than 4,000 hours of testing, largely in clinical trials at Veterans Affairs Department sites around the country.
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