Medical

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Restoring Natural Human Sensation in Amputees

At Case Western Reserve University's Functional Neural Interfaces (FNI) Lab, Professor Dustin J. Tyler, Ph.D., and his research team are working to advance neural interface technology towards clinical application to improve the quality of life for neurologically impaired individuals. In this video demonstration, an amputee carefully handles cherries by touch alone using a prosthetic hand. Sensation is restored to the prosthetic hand by three flat interface nerve electrodes implanted on the peripheral nerves of the residual limb. The sensation feels like natural sensation in the user's phantom hand. With the addition of sensation, the prosthetic hand begins to feel more like a part of the user's body.