For years one of the biggest mysteries in neuroscience and health, hid in what is known as phantom limb pain. These pains relied on different nerves picking up cues from the environment. However, the question about the rewiring of the nerves came to the surface. In Akhart’s research, “Tact: Design and Performance of an Open-Source, Affordable, Myoelectric Prosthetic Hand,” him and his research team focused greatly on the best way to design prosthetics that will allow people to “feel” like the prosthetic is part of their body. This research took the traditional model of a prosthetic hand and changed it to resemble a normal human hand with opposable thumbs.
The new design of the hand focused greatly on the ability for the individual using it, to feel like that was their original hand and control it by muscle memory. The small voltage shock that is sent through the neurons interacts with the prosthetic and sends a current that allows one to feel the motion and perform the task. This process is done through computer programing and bio-physics engineering. The sensory motions are recorded and allow the prosthetics to perform tasks such as picking something up or any sort of grasp by forming a grip. Prosthetics such as this one not only show a new way of use but are also different in the way that they are designed. Akhart’s research demonstrated that his team was abel to manufacture the hand at a lower cost through 3D printing. Not only was this accomplished in a new way, but the material that was used to make the prosthetic comes from off-shelf parts. Akhart’s research shows a new way of working with physics, computers and neuroscience in order to manufacture prosthetics that will change someone’s life.
In, “A neural interface provides long-term stable natural touch perception,” Tan and his research team focused on sensory restoration of a lost limb. Their findings demonstrate that when human subjects underwent implants of peripheral nerves due to a limb amputation, they experienced a natural touch sensation or “tingling” feeling after a year. However, electrical stimulation when using implanted peripheral nerve cuff electrodes did not show a nerve “touch sensation.” When a subject was able to develop an artificial touch sensation, the subject was then better able to control and grasp an object. The electrical stimulation of the peripheral nerves allowed the subjects to develop a long-term response that restored the sensory after the limb was lost.
Both researchers focused on the sensation after a limb is lost. The sensation is what allows an individual to fully use the prosthetic when they are able to “feel” the motion. The nerves were shown to have reconnected into different areas of the body after a limb was lost. Some subjects have experienced the sensation of a lost limb when certain parts of their chest were touched. This rewiring of nerves after a lost limb has been used in research to restore sensory feedback. There are many different aspects of neuroprosthetics that are being studied now in order to manufacture the best possible prosthetic. However, currently the cuff electrodes that are used, were only able to stimulate 30-50% of the channels. The current research is headed in the right direction but there is still a lot that has to be done in order to allow people with prosthetics to “feel” again and have the ability to have full control of their prosthetic.
Sources:
Sci Transl Med 8 October 2014:
Vol. 6, Issue 257, p. 257ra138
Sci. Transl. Med. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3008669
P. Slade, A. Akhtar, M. Nguyen, T. Bretl. (2015). Tact: Design and performance of an open-source, affordable, myoelectric prosthetic hand. The International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Seattle, WA.
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