A revolutionary prosthetic
hand that connects the directly to the brain has allowed a 28-year-old paralyzed volunteer to "feel" physical sensations for the first time in a
decade
The prosthetic has been created as part of a project by Darpa, the US government's defense research agency, which is primarily famous for its work in military robotics. As well as building weaponized drones however, the agency also has a programme dedicated to revolutionizing prosthetic s through the introduction of feedback loops.
Its latest breakthrough is subtle enough for the paralyzed volunteer to identify exactly which mechanical finger has been touched -- even if two are touched at once. In order to achieve this, it was necessary to place electrode arrays onto the volunteer's sensory cortex -- the region of the brain that identifies tactile sensations and the motor cortex -- the region of the brain that directs body movements. Wires were then run from the motor cortex to the prosthesis.
"We've completed the circuit," said Justin Sanchez, who manages the Darpa programme. "Prosthetic limbs that can be controlled by thoughts are showing great promise, but without feedback from signals traveling back to the brain it can be difficult to achieve the level of control needed to perform precise movements. By wiring a sense of touch from a mechanical hand directly into the brain, this work shows the potential for seamless bio-technological restoration of near-natural function."
In tests, the volunteer could identify even the lightest touches to their finger with nearly 100 percent accuracy. "At one point, instead of pressing one finger, the team decided to press two without telling him," said Sanchez. "He responded in jest asking whether somebody was trying to play a trick on him. That is when we knew that the feelings he was perceiving through the rohe robotic hand were near-natural."
Completing this "circuit" in the prosthetic hand is one of a series of breakthroughs in prosthetic s that have occurred over the past few years marking a massive shift in the affordability and sophistication of a technology which has seen little innovation in decades.
New Prosthetic Hand..-
The prosthetic has been created as part of a project by Darpa, the US government's defense research agency, which is primarily famous for its work in military robotics. As well as building weaponized drones however, the agency also has a programme dedicated to revolutionizing prosthetic s through the introduction of feedback loops.
Its latest breakthrough is subtle enough for the paralyzed volunteer to identify exactly which mechanical finger has been touched -- even if two are touched at once. In order to achieve this, it was necessary to place electrode arrays onto the volunteer's sensory cortex -- the region of the brain that identifies tactile sensations and the motor cortex -- the region of the brain that directs body movements. Wires were then run from the motor cortex to the prosthesis.
"We've completed the circuit," said Justin Sanchez, who manages the Darpa programme. "Prosthetic limbs that can be controlled by thoughts are showing great promise, but without feedback from signals traveling back to the brain it can be difficult to achieve the level of control needed to perform precise movements. By wiring a sense of touch from a mechanical hand directly into the brain, this work shows the potential for seamless bio-technological restoration of near-natural function."
In tests, the volunteer could identify even the lightest touches to their finger with nearly 100 percent accuracy. "At one point, instead of pressing one finger, the team decided to press two without telling him," said Sanchez. "He responded in jest asking whether somebody was trying to play a trick on him. That is when we knew that the feelings he was perceiving through the rohe robotic hand were near-natural."
Completing this "circuit" in the prosthetic hand is one of a series of breakthroughs in prosthetic s that have occurred over the past few years marking a massive shift in the affordability and sophistication of a technology which has seen little innovation in decades.
New Prosthetic Hand..-
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