A new technology designed to restore sensation in prosthetic limbs has made significant progress, allowing for more nuanced and immersive touch feedback. Researchers at the University of Chicago and other institutions have developed a brain-computer interface that can recreate tactile sensations, enabling people with limb loss or paralysis to interact with their environment more confidently.
The technology involves placing tiny electrode arrays in the parts of the brain responsible for movement and feeling the hand. Participants can move a robotic arm by thinking about movement, while sensors on the arm trigger pulses of electrical activity called intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) in the part of the brain dedicated to touch. This stimulation recreates sensations that correspond to specific locations on the hand.
Recent studies have improved the technology’s accuracy and stability, enabling participants to feel subtle differences in pressure and texture. The researchers also discovered that overlapping electrodes can create more complex sensations, such as feeling the boundaries of an object or the motion of something sliding along the skin.
These advancements bring prosthetic feedback closer to natural touch, allowing users to perform everyday tasks with confidence. Future developments aim to integrate this technology into robotic arms and expand its application to other sensory loss conditions, including mastectomy patients who may benefit from an implantable device that restores the sense of touch after breast removal surgery.
Source: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250116/Brain-stimulation-enables-nuanced-feeling-in-prosthetic-hands.aspx