Amputees can now get realistic sensation by direct stimulation of their nervous system through a new study from the University of Chicago.
The researchers used neuroprosthetic devices to give amputees, and quadriplegic patients feel again. They used biomimetic approach to approximate natural reactions of the nervous system, Inverse reported.
They studied two male amputees who lost an arm. They were implanted with neural devices that have embedded electrodes on the media, ulnar and radial nerves of the arm.
Sliman Bensmaia, one of the researchers, explained that sensory feedback is important for the creation of dexterous hands for amputee and quadriplegic patients. He explained that they looked at the intact hand and nervous system and mimick their neuroprosthesis.
For this study, the researchers tested the subjects' ability to determine sensation upon stimulation. They found out that the sensation varies from frequency and intensity of the electrical pulse.
They found out that activation charge rate, an electrical stimulation feature, can determine sensation strength. They explained that changing the activation charge rate changed the sensory magnitude, Science Daily reported.
The researchers admitted that an amputee's ability to feel would depend on the device he uses. They explained that without the ability to feel realistic and natural sensations they were not able to achieve the dexterity of natural hands.
Bensmaia even compared this to a piano. He said that to have a melodious tune one must be able to play the piano delicately.
He explained that playing the piano requires soft but forceful strikes. He said that this force was based on the sensory ability of the fingertips.
He added that without these signals the sound that the piano will make would be horrible. They explained that their goal is to reproduce this signals the way it is supposed to be.
He said that they are aiming to create a stimulation that's so natural the amputee won't have to think about it. It is important for Bensmaia and his colleagues for an amputee to react automatically to the objects that they are holding.
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