A prosthesis capable of restoring the sense of touch

A new advance for research. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has developed a prosthesis capable of very realistically reproducing the sensations linked to the sense of touch.

The tests performed around the artificial limb lived up to what DARPA expected. During the experiment, the patient with the hand was able to be able to feel when scientists touched one of his fingers, even when they palpated two at a time. The secret of this success? The establishment of a network of electrodes on the patient's sensory cortex, which recognizes sensations, and sensors in the motor cortex, since this part of the brain is responsible for managing movement. Whenever the prosthesis touches something, an electrical signal is sent to the brain.

If the tests carried out are conclusive, there is still a long way to go before we can offer this artificial limb to patients. The sensors placed on the prosthesis do not cover the whole hand, and do not take into account the temperature of an object. However, this technology represents a significant new step in research, and a great hope for patients who may eventually find sensations they thought were lost.

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