Revolutionizing Prosthetics program achieves goal of
restoring sensation
(September 11, 2015) A
28-year-old who has been paralyzed for more than a decade as a result of a
spinal cord injury has become the first person to be able to “feel” physical
sensations through a prosthetic hand directly connected to his brain, and even
identify which mechanical finger is being gently touched.
The advance, made possible by sophisticated neural
technologies developed under DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics points to a future in which people living with paralyzed or
missing limbs will not only be able to manipulate objects by sending signals
from their brain to robotic devices, but also be able to sense precisely what
those devices are touching.
“We’ve completed the circuit,” said DARPA program manager
Justin Sanchez. “Prosthetic limbs that can be controlled by thoughts are
showing great promise, but without feedback from signals traveling back to the
brain it can be difficult to achieve the level of control needed to perform
precise movements. By wiring a sense of touch from a mechanical hand directly
into the brain, this work shows the potential for seamless bio-technological
restoration of near-natural function.”
The clinical work involved the placement of electrode arrays
onto the paralyzed volunteer’s sensory cortex—the brain region responsible for
identifying tactile sensations such as pressure. In addition, the team placed
arrays on the volunteer’s motor cortex, the part of the brain that directs body
movements.