Slashdot Mirror
Amputee Has Prosthetic Hand Wired To Nerves
New submitter kalman5 writes "Dennis Aabo Sørensen is the first amputee in the world to feel sensory rich information — in real-time — with a prosthetic hand wired to nerves in his upper arm. Sørensen could grasp objects intuitively and identify what he was touching while blindfolded. The surgical team 'attached electrodes from a robotic hand to a 36-year-old volunteer's median and ulnar nerves. Those nerves carry sensations that correspond with the volunteer's index finger and thumb, and with his pinky finger and the edge of his hand, respectively. The volunteer controlled the prosthetic with small muscle movements detected by sEMG, a method that dates to the 1970s and measures electrical signals through the skin—unlike the electrodes attached to his nerves, sEMG is not invasive.' The results? 'The volunteer was able to complete the requested tasks with his prosthetic thumb and index finger 67 percent of the time the first day and 93 percent of the time by the seventh day of the experiment, Micera and colleagues report. He found the pinky finger harder to control: he was only able to accomplish the requested grip 83 percent of the time by the end of the experiment.'"
You can download sensory information to be replayed to your sensory nervous system. I for one will welcome that, and the inevitable uses the porn industry come up with.
As someone who has gone through physical therapy on my arm, the thought of very good immediate fine motor control and reliable control within a week of training is incredible. I remember spending weeks trying to reliably touch the tips of my thumb and pinky together. Even now, I have difficulty with my ring and middle fingers doing what they are supposed to unless I have them in the corner of my eye.
Thirty four characters live here.