Man Gets First Prosthetic Hand That Can Feel
Source: news.yahoo.com
Nine years ago, Dennis Aabo Sørensen severely wounded his left arm in a fireworks accident, and had to have it amputated. Now, a bionic hand has restored his ability to feel, the first time this has ever been done.
Researchers embedded electrodes in Sørensen’s arm, and touch sensors in a prosthetic hand to stimulate his remaining nerves. With the hand, Sørensen was able to recognize different objects by their feel, and grasp them appropriately, according to the study detailed online today (Feb. 5) in the journal Science Translational Medicine."I could feel things that I hadn’t been able to feel in over nine years," Sørensen, who lives in Denmark, said in a statement.
So far, Sørensen is the only person to test the prosthesis, and he’s had it for only a short time, but if proven to work over the long term in more people, the system could vastly improve the function of current prosthetic limbs and the quality of life for their users.
Restoring touch
The ability to feel is critical for the dexterity humans need to perform basic tasks with their hands. Tactile information tells a person how much force to use when grasping objects as rigid as a coffee mug or as delicate as a grape.
Without sensory feedback from our hands, we would have difficulties performing even the most basic activities of daily living," said Sliman Bensmaia, a neuroscientist at the University of Chicago, who was not involved in the research.
Many researchers are developing prosthetic systems aimed at restoring people’s ability to control their arms or legs after amputation, spinal cord injury or disease. And increasingly, scientists are also working on incorporating touch-sensitive feedback. The new study is the first to demonstrate such feedback successfully in a human patient.
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