Advances in medicine have led to prosthetic implants, which replace a person's missing body parts. However, traditional prosthetic limbs are limited by several factors which affect the user's freedom of movement. Another innovation in the form of the bionic hand converts electrical impulses from the muscles in the user's upper arm into mechanical motion powered by motors.
Bionic hands are connected to the remaining muscles in the residual limb. For users who are amputated above the elbow, there are not enough muscles to control the limb connecting to a robotic joint. Almost 2/3 of upper-limb amputations involve finger loss, which means that millions of people around the globe have missing fingers, parts of a finger, or a section of their palm. Yet, limited bionic solutions focus on the detailed movements of the fingers.
A Cutting-Edge Surgical Breakthrough
To address the challenges in wearing bionic hands, a group of researchers in Sweden developed an alternative that allows the user to control their fingers. Led by Professor Max Ortiz Catalan from the Center for Bionics and Pain Research (CBPR), the team combined prosthetic technology with artificial intelligence (A.I.).
To make this possible, the research team reconfigured the residual limb of an unnamed patient. They used skeletal implants and sensors to connect a prosthetic limb electrically; then, the peripheral nerves were rewired and redistributed. The scientists discovered that the new bionic hand can effectively access more information, allowing it to move much more.
According to Catalan, their study reveals that it is possible to combine surgical procedures, which, when integrated with implanted electrodes, can allow a user to have natural and reliable control over the robotic joints. It demonstrated the likelihood of splitting the nerves damaged by amputation. These nerves can be redistributed to connect with the available muscles in the residual limb or even transplanted from another part of the user's body.
The distribution and synchronized reinnervation of various muscle targets creates the information that will be used by the 'brain' of the prosthesis so it will know what it is supposed to perform. The 'brain' of the prosthesis comprises microcontrollers that signal processing and A.I. algorithms.
Catalan and his colleagues also presented how the transferred nerves can be connected to the 'hosting muscles.' After learning how these are connected, the shared nerves are attached to the prosthetic limbs, allowing the user to control each finger in the prosthetic hand more freely.
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How Does a Bionic Hand Work?
A bionic hand refers to an electromechanical device connected to a human body to replicate the performance of a natural hand. Depending on the severity of amputation, it comprises a bionic hand and may include a wrist, elbow, and shoulder.
A bionic hand works by getting signals from the muscles of the user. Upon wearing the bionic arm, the user flexes the power in the residual limb below the elbow. The special sensors detect the electric signals which are naturally generated and convert them into proportional bionic arm movement. In short, the bionic hand is controlled by the same tensed muscles that open and close a biological hand.
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