Can prosthetics also have tactile sensation? A Simulator Hand Connecting the Nervous System

For those unfortunate amputees, is there any hope in this life that they will feel another touch from their lost arms? Now, the first tactile hand has finally been born, and it will be transplanted to a patient later this year through a voluntary operation. If the operation is successful, the patient will be able to regain what he has lost for a long time - touch; human prosthetic limb transplantation technology will also open a new chapter.

The tactile hand is connected with the patient's nervous system so that the patient can control the hand through the brain. The skin sensor on the hand will help the patient get the tactile sense. If the operation is successful, the patient's nervous system will be connected with the sensor system of the hand simulator. Rapid and bidirectional information exchange will make brain control and tactile feedback possible.

According to Dr. Silvestro Micera of the Federal College of Technology de Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland, the patient who volunteered for surgery came from Rome, aged only over 20, and lost his lower arm in an unfortunate accident. He said the sensor system of the hand simulator would be connected directly to the median and ulnar nerves of the patient's upper arm through electrodes.

"It's really a great advance in medicine. It's the dawn of amputees. It's an unprecedented prosthetic limb that gives patients a sense of touch." "The more patients feel and feel, the more acceptable the prosthesis will be," Dr. Michelle said at an AAAS meeting in Boston. Next year, we will be the leader in the diagnosis and treatment of amputees.

The tactile hand simulator has been developed for many years. The semi-finished version of the previous version was temporarily transplanted in 2009 to an amputee named Pierpaolo Petruzziello, who also lost his lower arm in an accident. After installing the prosthesis, Pedro Zielo can control the prosthetic limb to grasp, and feel the needle prick on the palm of the prosthetic limb.

The immaturity of this semi-finished product is that only two parts of the sensor are installed, while the latest version adds sensors to the fingertips, palms, wrists, etc. Dr. Michelle said this was to enable patients to have as much touch as possible from normal people. "In this way, patients can feel the feeling of pinching, can have the touch of each finger, can feel the movement of prosthetic limbs." "We have upgraded the position where the hand is connected to the patient's body, and ideally the patient will be able to perform more subtle manipulations of the prosthesis," he said at the meeting.

In this simulation hand, the green part is equipped with a driving motor, the red part is equipped with a tendon tension sensor, and the yellow part is equipped with a tactile sensor. Pictures from Independent

Dr. Michella revealed their work plan: tactile prostheses will first accompany volunteers through a month of observation period to see if any adverse reactions occur; if all is well, within two years they will allow the final complete stable version to enter clinical trials.

At present, there are still some problems with the hand simulator. One is that the patient should always wear the hand simulator or unload it regularly to relax the body. The second is how to hide the connection between the hand and the patient under the skin. This year, the trial version still needs to put the connection through the patient's skin. Dr. Michelle said they are looking for a solution to bury the connection under the skin.