Smithsonian's bionic man has artificial heart and prototype parts
Built for a television documentary, he is an assembly of mostly prototype body parts from around the world that are not far from reality
Frank's skeleton looks like it was made in a bike shop, his arms and hands operate on batteries and a computer programme lets him have an "almost human-like conversation".
Frank is a bionic man, built for a Smithsonian Channel special about state-of-the-art man-made body parts gathered from around the globe.
Bertolt Meyer, host of the documentary, was at the National Air and Space Museum with Frank last week to tout the documentary that was due to air yesterday on the Smithsonian Channel. Frank will remain on display at the museum through December, when he will be dismantled and his parts returned to the organisations that donated them for the project.
But the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart that pumps plastic blood through his plastic veins was made in Tucson, Arizona, and it is the only one of Frank's internal organs that is more than a prototype.
"All the other bits that we see here, like the artificial pancreas here, the first prototype of an artificial kidney, spleen and lung - they're all still prototypes and still have a very long way to go," said Meyer. "Whereas the heart is already being used in patients."
Meyer, who was born without the lower part of his left arm and uses a prosthetic, said he hopes the programme will spark a conversation about what continuing development in this area could mean for society.