The technological industry has seen an unprecedented boom, with new innovations popping up every day. From 'smart boards' in classrooms to VR headsets that transport gaming into the real world, technology has become an integral part of our lives. However, one of the most intriguing advancements is the potential of technology to assist those who have lost a limb, using different types of neuroprosthetics.
Losing a limb can have a drastic effect on one’s life as it is most likely something that had to be done to save it. Yet many people are left feeling empty or incomplete due to this and feel what is known as “phantom limb” syndrome. This means that whatever pain one feels is experienced in a limb that does not exist. Although current treatments range from procedures such as acupuncture, massaging the residual limb, or even mirror box therapy, where the nonexistent limb is covered by a mirror that faces the non-affected limb, allowing the patient to trick their brain into thinking the limb is still there, it does not necessarily mean that it becomes a cure for helping the affected patient. This is why many patients become fitted with prosthetic limbs to help them be able to live a relatively everyday life. Due to the limitation in how much movement specific prosthetics can do, this creates a roadblock for the patient to move on with their life. This is where rehabilitation robotics come in.
Over the semester, many neuroscientists were invited to speak on what they were currently working on, including Dr. Khorasani, whose work involved using a brain-computer-spinal interface to restore the function of an upper limb after a spinal cord injury. During his talk and while reading his paper, Brain-Computer-Spinal Interface Restores Upper Limb Function After Spinal Cord Injury, he went into depth about how BCIs can be used to reanimate paralyzed limbs after a spinal cord injury. With this in mind, how BCIs were able to use recording and stimulation approaches in humans to be able to create a neuroprosthetic to be able to bring back function in a limb left me wondering what work had been done to be able to apply the same or similar technology to those who have lost a limb completely due to amputation.
Missing a part of your body is like missing a part of who you are. Many of the features we have as a person help to show everyone who we are and help us to feel comfortable in our skin. When something as big as a limb is missing, it makes it feel as if we are broken and empty. To be able to apply a technology similar to the one Dr. Khorasani used in his study means that many people would be able to feel like themselves again and live life to the fullest. In The Future of Upper Extremity Rehabilitation Robotics: Research and Practice, researchers investigated other forms of creating neuroprosthetics. Developing interfaces that can directly interact with the motor system can restore limb control and functionality within lifelike prosthetics. Current technology can allow patients to either have simple prosthetics or limited function in the “remaining” limb. To help develop newer interfaces, researchers took a closer look into peripheral nerve interfaces that could still send signals to the phantom limb years after amputation by creating electrodes that could access said signals. A similar tactic of using functional electrical stimulation also helped with learning more about how the motor system could potentially be used to bring back full mobility and reanimate paralyzed limbs, as well as help to create lifelike limbs that can be controlled with the patient’s mind as if the limb was never gone in the first place.
With such technology making its way through today’s world, it’s interesting to think how these “small” advances could one day potentially better the lives of millions of people in the world, leading to improved patient health and care and allowing for people to live life the best they can. When you lose function in a limb, or you lose the limb in its entirety, it’s easy to think that life will be difficult and the world will not be as accepting. However, if these technologies continue to be studied, patients will feel whole, “normal,” and be their best selves.
References:
Vu P.P., Chestek C.A., Nason S.R., Kung T.A., Kemp S.W.P., Cederna P.S. The future of upper extremity rehabilitation robotics: research and practice. Muscle Nerve. 2020; 61: 708–718. https://doi.org/10.1002/mus.26860
Samejima S, Khorasani A, Ranganathan V, Nakahara J, Tolley N.M, Boissenin A, Shalchyan V, Daliri M.R, Smith, J.R., and Moritz C.T. (2021) Brain-Computer-Spinal Interface Restores Upper Limb Function After Spinal Cord Injury, IEEE transaction on neural system and rehabilitation engineering, 28(1), 17-26
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