Amputees often report maintaining feeling in their missing, or phantom, limbs. Thanks to a new study conducted by the Swiss EPFL, amputees may regain their sense of touch with a newly developed bionic finger, which one study participant claimed felt almost identical to the real thing. (via EPFL)
Thanks to a new study, amputees may regain the ability to feel texture and shape. Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) have successfully demonstrated a bionic fingertip that allowed an amputee to have feeling in his phantom hand again.
Dennis Aabo Sorensen lost his left hand in an accident years ago. Following the incident, Sorensen has worked with the EPFL on its initiatives to progress prosthetic research and development. The amputee has electrode implants in his arm, and worked with the research lab on the development of a bionic hand that recognized shape and softness. For this project, Sorensen’s implanted electrodes were connected to the bionic fingertip as it rubbed against various surfaces, as he tried to differentiate rough from smooth surfaces. Sorensen was successful 96% of the time.
The bionic fingertip was equipped with sensors that produced an electrical signal. This signal was then translated into a method of communication that could be understood by the central nervous signal – a series of electrical spikes. Once this is complete, the new signals are sent to the nerves, to be processed by the brain, allowing Sorensen to distinguish between smooth or rigged plastic surfaces. The entire process mimics the natural communication of the central nervous system, both at the sensor locations of the bionic fingertip, and in the brain.
EPFL researchers used a control group of non-amputees to determine if the brain activity produced as a result of the bionic sensory input was congruent with that of a normal human finger. Non-amputee study participants executed the same process as Sorensen, except the electrodes were implanted near nerve endings in the participants’ lower arm, and the study participants wore EEG caps. The control group demonstrated a 77% success rate of distinguishing rough and smooth surfaces, and the recorded brain activity matched both the control group and Sorensen, showing the fingertip was able to communicate with the brain as an organic appendage would. The experiment is the first successful demonstration of its kind in the world.
The research was led by Silvestro Micera, Calogero Oddo, and supporting research teams at EPFL and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA). The principal researchers wanted to see if collaboration between the fields of applied engineering and neuroscience could further progress the development of neuroprosthetics. And the answer was: yes. The researchers want to continue research to see if a sense of touch can be felt by robots within the medical, emergency and industrial fields. This could be a cornerstone for the prevention of robotic-related injuries. Watch a video about Sorensen’s experience with the bionic finger here.
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