A bionic hand being developed in Europe is taking prosthesis to the next level by adding the ability to not only grip objects but actually feel them.
In a study published in Science Translational Medicine this week, researchers in Italy and Switzerland detail a study in which Dennis Aabo Sorensen, a 36-year-old amputee from Denmark, was able to distinguish shapes and consistencies of objects placed into the robotic hand he was wearing.
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For the four-week trial, the researchers implanted electrodes into the nerves of his arms and attached the prosthetic hand, which has several sensors on each tendon. The sensors detect the level of force with which a user grips something and use that information to direct stimulation to the appropriate sensory nerves.
The researchers note that there’s still a lot of work to be done on refining the device, miniaturizing its components and testing it over long periods of time and an in larger groups of patients. One of the researchers told Reuters he hopes to have it in clinical practice within seven years.
