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! World's First Magnetically Controlled Prosthetic Test Succeeded: Unlocking a New Future for Hand Prosthetics

Policy Essentials 2024-09-12 2 views
Introduction

On September 11th, in Pisa, Italy, the world's first magnetically controlled prosthetic hand allowed amputees to replicate all movements solely through thought and control the force applied when grasping fragile objects.

. There are no wires, no electrical connections, only magnets and muscles to control finger movements and make daily activities possible, such as opening cans, using screwdrivers, and picking up coins.

A research team from the Scuola Superiore SantAnna Biorobot Institute in Pisa, coordinated by Professor Christian Cipriani, has developed a novel interface between the residual arm and robotic arm of amputees for decoding motion intentions. The system involves implanting small magnets into the muscles of the forearm. The implant was integrated with the Mia Hand robotic arm developed by the spin off company Prensilia and successfully tested on the first patient, a 34 year old Italian named Daniel, who used the prosthetic for up to six weeks. The experimental results were published in the scientific journal "Scientific Robotics", representing an important step forward in the future of prosthetics. The Scuola Superiore SantAnna research team in Pisa has developed a future oriented prosthetic, which is the world's first prosthetic with magnetic control. This prosthetic allows amputees to replicate all movements simply by thinking, and can control the force applied when grabbing fragile objects, making daily activities such as opening cans, using screwdrivers, picking up coins, etc. possible, without wires and electrical connections, relying solely on magnets and muscles to control finger movements. Under the coordination of Professor Christian Cipriani, the team has developed a new interface between amputees' residual arms and robotic arms for decoding motion intentions. This system involves implanting a small magnet into the forearm muscle, which is integrated with the Mia Hand robotic arm developed by the derivative company Prensilia. It was successfully tested on a 34 year old Italian patient named Daniel for six weeks. The experimental results were published in the journal Science Robotics, representing an important step forward in the future of prosthetics. Professor Christian Cipriani stated that this achievement is the result of decades of road research, which has developed functional prosthetics that can meet the needs of people who have lost one hand.
Muscle dynamics control is a cutting-edge field explored by the research team, which decodes movement intentions through implanted magnets in muscles. The idea of the new interface is to implant small magnets a few millimeters in size into the residual muscles of the amputated arm, and use the movement generated by muscle contraction to control the opening and closing of fingers. The forearm has 20 muscles, many of which control hand movements. Many people who have lost their hands can still feel the presence of their hands, and the remaining muscles move according to brain commands. The research team drew these movements into signals to guide the fingers of the robotic arm. The natural magnetic field of a magnet can be easily located in space, and when muscles contract, the magnet moves. Special algorithms convert this change into specific commands for the robotic arm. Daniel lost his left hand in September 2022 and underwent surgery in April 2023 to implant six magnets into his arm. The surgery was performed at Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Pisana (AOUP), thanks to the collaboration of Dr. Lorenzo Andreani, Dr. Manuela Nicastro, and Dr. Carmelo Chisari's team. One of the keys to successful surgery is carefully selecting patients according to strict criteria, accurately selecting residual muscles in the amputation area through preoperative MRI imaging and electromyography. However, due to scar formation and fibrosis, the actual condition of the tissue needs to be adapted during surgery. In order to facilitate the connection between the residual arm with implanted magnets and the robotic arm, the team has created a carbon fiber prosthetic socket containing an electronic system to locate the movement of the magnet.
The experimental results far exceeded expectations. Daniel was able to control finger movements, pick up and move objects of different shapes, perform daily actions, and control force.. Daniel said that this system helped him regain the feelings and emotions he had lost. The first author of the study, Assistant Professor Marta Gherardini, stated that working with Daniel made them realize that there are many things they can do to improve their lives. Professor Cipriani concluded that these results are ready to be extended to a wider range of amputation surgeries, and work on new implants is underway with funding from Europe and countries. Media reports: According to experts, this bionic arm is estimated to cost between 25000 and 80000 pounds and can be used by children as young as 9 years old.. According to the exchange rate in September 2024, 1 pound is approximately equivalent to 9.3 Chinese yuan.. 25000 pounds is equivalent to approximately 25000 x 9.3=232500 Chinese yuan. 80000 pounds is equivalent to approximately 744000 yuan in Chinese currency, which is 80000 x 9.3. Equivalent to approximately RMB 232500 to 744000. This article is edited by 51 Artificial Limb Group, with images sourced from< strong>NY Breaking News
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