Struck by the “listen” bug; but here is a diversion from the usual subject matters of my posts.
(Courtesy: The New York Times)
Technology Review reports a prototype prosthetic limb being developed by DARPA that will help amputee patients control it more intuitively. Motorized prostheses today commonly “co-opt existing shoulder movements” to control the hand, elbow or wrist on the limb.”
These devices can be frustrating and slow: the user must consciously contract those muscles to trigger a movement, and only one movement can be performed at a time.
With the DARPA prototype, amputees can move the artificial limb more easily by controlling it using only their thoughts, and also perform more than one movement at a time. All this by simply by using rewired nerves and their brains.
In a technique called muscle reinnervation, nerves that remain after an arm is amputated are connected to another muscle in the body, usually the chest. When the person wants to move the arm, the brain sends signals that first contract the chest muscles, which send an electrical signal to the prosthetic arm, instructing it to move. The process requires no more conscious effort than it would for a person who has a natural arm.
The researchers are working on adding sensory feedback to the system. Feedback that is crucial in determining how much force to use to grab a glass without breaking it.
This is a fascinating development, and will hopefully obviate the phantom limb sensation often experienced by amputees.
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