Katharina Buczek
Approximately 2.1 million people in the United States are currently living with limb loss, but the dream of amputees feeling human touch through their prosthetics may be closer to fruition than ever.
A groundbreaking development has led to the creation of a prosthetic limb equipped with fingertip sensors, empowering a standard prosthetic hand to detect and react to temperature variations as a natural hand would.
This innovation provides amputees with a genuine experience of warmth and coolness in their “phantom” limbs by transmitting thermal data to nerve regions in the remaining part of the limb. These regions are interpreted by the brain as still being connected to the absent hand.
The technology, named the MiniTouch and detailed in a study recently published in Med, is built using readily available, cost-effective components. It also doesn’t necessitate surgical implantation and can be integrated into commercially available prosthetic hands within a few hours.
Being able to detect hot and cold temperatures marks a significant enhancement in prosthetic limb technology, yet it represents more than just a functional upgrade.
The perception of temperature introduces a human dimension to the sense of touch. Experiencing warmth contributes to a deeper sense of embodiment, fostering the feeling that a prosthetic isn’t merely a synthetic aid but an integral part of one’s body.
“We have a colleague who says touch without temperature is like vision without color,” said Solaiman Shokur, the study’s senior author.
Shokur also stated that, right now, researchers are advancing the capabilities of prosthetics to perceive textures as well. At the same time, they are focusing on proprioception, which is the brain’s capacity to be aware of the position and movement of body parts. So, the ultimate goal is to integrate all these elements, creating a complete spectrum of sensations.
Last year, the same team of researchers unveiled findings from a study where they applied thermal electrodes to the residual limbs of amputees. When these electrodes were activated by touching objects with varying temperatures through an attached sensor, participants reported feeling these thermal sensations in their absent hand.
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