By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    healthcare cybersecurity
    4 Helpful Tips on How to Protect Your Medical Practice Against Cyber Attacks
    October 24, 2021
    Health Check Diagnosis Medical Condition Analysis Concept
    6 Health Woes With Online Remedies
    January 19, 2022
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    April 24, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    healthy nursing school habits
    Healthy Habits for Nursing Student Nursing School Students
    May 24, 2024
    High Deductables
    High-Deductible Insurance and Rising Bad Debt
    July 24, 2015
    How People Are Taking Advantage of Health Deals in the Recent Recession
    February 5, 2021
    Latest News
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
    Strengthening Healthcare Systems Through Clinical and Administrative Career Development
    June 13, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Touch-Sensitive Artificial Limbs on the Horizon For Amputees: A New Age of “Smart” Prosthetics?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Technology > Medical Devices > Touch-Sensitive Artificial Limbs on the Horizon For Amputees: A New Age of “Smart” Prosthetics?
Medical DevicesMedical InnovationsTechnology

Touch-Sensitive Artificial Limbs on the Horizon For Amputees: A New Age of “Smart” Prosthetics?

Susan Scutti
Last updated: October 16, 2013 8:11 am
Susan Scutti
Share
6 Min Read
touch-sensitive artificial limb
SHARE

touch-sensitive artificial limbA team of scientists at the University of Chicago are working toward creating touch-sensitive prosthetic limbs that could someday convey sensory information to an amputee’s brain.

touch-sensitive artificial limbA team of scientists at the University of Chicago are working toward creating touch-sensitive prosthetic limbs that could someday convey sensory information to an amputee’s brain. Their research has been funded in part by a multi-year Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract. To revolutionize prosthetics, the team is hoping to create an artificial limb that would reestablish a form of natural motor control by first restoring sensation to amputees.

“If you lose your somatosensory system it almost looks like your motor system is impaired,” the study’s senior author, Sliman Bensmaia, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Chicago, stated in a press release. “If you really want to create an arm that can actually be used dexterously without the enormous amount of concentration it takes without sensory feedback, you need to restore the somatosensory feedback.”

Somatosensory feedback is what allows the fingertips to understand how hard the hand is squeezing something or where an object is positioned relative to the hand. Although a contemporary prosthetic allows an amputee to grasp an object, similar to the way an arcade crane permits a person to grasp a stuffed ball, the amount of concentration necessary to do so is considerable. In essence, the sense of vision must compensate for a lack of the sense of touch.

Progressing Research

For a study published this past May, Bensmaia and his team worked on understanding how an organism might be able to sense a tactile stimulus, in real time, through an artificial sensor. After identifying the patterns of neural activity sparked by touch, they created an equation to mimic the electrical pulse that accompanies the sensation of touch. Then, they created a prosthetic hand wired to brain implants in an experiment with rhesus macaques, whose sensory systems closely resemble those of humans. Each time they touched the prosthetic hand with a physical probe, electrical signals were sent to the brain.

“We think the key is to invoke what we know about how the brain of the intact organism processes sensory information, and then try to reproduce these patterns of neural activity through stimulation of the brain,” Bensmaia stated in a press release.

After completing this first study of contact, the researchers turned their focus to the sensation of pressure. For this experiment, they developed an algorithm that could generate an electrical current to elicit a sensation of pressure. Again, they were able to refine the algorithm so that the response of the monkeys was the same whether they felt stimuli with their actual fingers or an artificial hand wired to brain implants. Finally, the team studied contact events and the burst of activity in the brain created when an object is grasped or released. Working again with algorithms, the team created a set of instructions to be incorporated into a robotic arm to provide sensory feedback to the brain.

“To restore sensory motor function of an arm, you not only have to replace the motor signals that the brain sends to the arm to move it around, but you also have to replace the sensory signals that the arm sends back to the brain,” Bensmaia stated in a press release.

Restoration of the Self

Currently, Bensmaia and his team await Food and Drug Administration approval of similar devices for human trials, which they hope can begin within the next year. Because they have never produced true sensations, prosthetics and robotic arms have always felt more like tools than real replacements. According to the Limbs for Life Foundation, more than 150,000 individuals join over four million existing amputees in the U.S. each year. The primary causes of limb loss are disease, most notably diabetes, accidents, birth defects, and warfare.

Amputees face not only staggering emotional and lifestyle challenges but also — in many cases — financial difficulties if they cannot work. If a prosthetic limb could produce a lifelike sense of touch, this would not only improve dexterity but also help amputees regain the all-important sense of self.

“If every time you see your robotic arm touching something, you get a sensation that is projected to it, I think it’s very possible that in fact, you will consider this new thing as being part of your body,” Bensmaia stated in a press release.

 

Sources: Berg JA, Dammann JF, Bensmaia S, et al. Behavioral Demonstration of a Somatosensory Neuroprosthesis. IEEE. 2013.

Bensmaia S, Tabot G, Dammann J, et al. Spatial and temporal codes mediate the tactile perception of natural textures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2013.

(image: PNAS, 2013)

TAGGED:artificial limbprosthetics
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025
recovering from injury
Rebuilding After Injury: Path to Physical and Emotional Recovery
News
June 22, 2025
scientist using microscope
When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
Global Healthcare
June 18, 2025

You Might also Like

Sonitus Medical – Premier Hearing Prosthetic

March 15, 2011
Image
eHealthHome HealthMedical DevicesNewsTechnology

Mobile Health Around the Globe: Healthcare Technology in the 21st Century

January 14, 2013
mhealth around the globe
eHealthMedical DevicesMedical InnovationsMobile HealthTechnology

Mobile Health Around the Globe: Gene-RADAR Can Test for Viruses in Remote Locations

October 28, 2013
Health careMedical InnovationsTechnology

How AI is Transforming the Healthcare Industry for the Better

August 30, 2017
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?