Here is an advanced robotic prosthetic arm that brings the sensation of touch and feel to amputees. It has direct connection to the user’s nerves, muscles, and skeleton and is mind controlled. All the electronics are contained with its body, so there is no need to carry additional equipment. Here is how it works:
The sensation of touch, is possible through stimulation of the nerves that used to be connected to the biological hand before the amputation. Force sensors located in the thumb of the prosthesis measure contact and pressure applied to an object while grasping. This information is transmitted to the patients’ nerves leading to their brains. Patients can thus feel when they are touching an object, its characteristics, and how hard they are pressing it, which is crucial for imitating a biological hand.
[HT: Chalmers University of Technology]