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New Prosthetics Let Patients Reach Out and Touch Stuff
Posted by Jennifer Hooker at 5:35 AM on November 28, 2007
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a way to make people with prosthetic limbs feel by transplanting nerves from the amputated hand into the patient's chest. Though the feeling would be in the chest rather than their arms, the scientists are hopeful that this could lead to prosthetics with sensors under the fingertips which would make people feel like they had a real hand. The only feedback that patients with the traditional prosthetics currently available get is visual, which leads to many broken glasses they can't determine the force of their grip. Keep your fingers crossed that these bionic arms take off so that people with prosthetics will never have to fear about dropping their beer ever again. [Technology Review]
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EvilJ
Posted 2:58 PM 27/11/07
Yeah, but stuff like that in prototype phase is always much bulkier than what makes it to market. In any case, stuff gets smaller really really fast.
As soon as they get all this stuff really done and developed, I'm totally getting the Vader package. Just... make me about 2 inches taller.
EvilJ
michaelportent
Posted 2:28 PM 27/11/07
That sure is a lot of hardware to carry around on your shoulder to feel stuff in a prosthetic hand. Here's hoping this works and they can make it practical in the next decade.
michaelportent
ANoel
Posted 2:13 PM 27/11/07
Shit!
I read that as "New Prosthetics Let Patients Reach Out and Stuff iTouch"
ANoel
ninjagin
Posted 4:20 PM 27/11/07
The Dean Kamen flavor uses a "buzzing" vibration that increases in frequency as pressure on the item increases, so the pressure is perceiveable, even though acclimation to the amount of pressure required on specific items is still something one would have to associate with practice.
ninjagin