The gospel for the disabled, smart prosthetics that can sense touch are here

This smart prosthesis realizes tactile simulation for the first time, which not only makes the wearer safer, reduces the possibility of falling, but also helps cure phantom limb pain.

For some disabled people, prosthetics may be their hope to stand and walk again, but regaining consciousness has become a luxury. However, with the help of new technologies, prosthetic limbs now also have the ability to sense.

According to reports, a research team from the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences in Austria recently successfully installed a "sensory-enhanced" prosthetic limb on the human body. This prosthetic limb realizes the simulation of touch for the first time, which not only makes the wearer safer (reducing the possibility of falling by sensing the surrounding environment), but also helps cure phantom limb pain.

In order to achieve these goals, the team led by Dr. Hubert Egger shifted the tester's nerve endings so that they were closer to the connection point of the prosthetic limb and connected to the simulator in the prosthetic limb, and these simulators were connected to 6 sensors located on the "foot". When the sensor receives pressure and touches the ground, the prosthetic limb simulates touch and transmits it to the nerve endings and eventually reaches the brain. In this way, the prosthesis can achieve tactile sensing.