Bionic arm transmits sense of touch to wearer
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028329
BBC : For more than one year, two patients in the US have been wearing bionic arms that transmit electrical signals directly to their nerves, thus giving them a sense of touch. The prosthetics are loaded with sensors in 19 locations on the hand. The sensors send signal patterns to the wearer’s nerves, which the brain is able to translate into tactile sensations. The patterns are sensitive enough that when the patients are blindfolded, they can identify different materials’ textures. An interesting side effect of the prosthetic is that it has eliminated the occurrence of phantom limb syndrome, in which amputees feel pain or itching in the lost limb. Separately, a team of researchers in Sweden has developed a prosthetic that is attached directly to the bone, which could lead to long-term permanent prosthetic limbs.
