Sensory-Motor Hand Prosthesis With Integrated Thermal Feedback
Temperature Sensitive Prosthetics Improve Amputee Dexterity and Feeling of Human Connection
Author: School of Advanced Studies Sant’Anna – Contact: santannapisa.it/en
Published: 2024/02/09
Peer-Reviewed: Yes – Publication Type: Case Study
Table of Contents: Summary – Main Article – About/Author
Synopsis: Device allows amputees to sense and respond to temperature by delivering thermal information from the prosthesis fingertip to the amputee’s residual limb. The device was integrated into the patient’s personal prosthesis and was attached to a point on the same residual limb, producing thermal sensations in the person’s phantom index finger. For the first time, we’re really close to restoring the full palette of sensations to amputees.
Main Digest
Thanks to a sensorised prosthetic hand that provides realistic and real-time thermal feedback, Fabrizio, a 57-year-old man from Pistoia with a transradial (wrist) amputation, was able to discriminate between and manually sort objects of different temperatures or materials and sense bodily contact with other humans.
“When one of the researchers placed the sensor on his own body, I could feel the warmth of another person with my phantom hand. it was a very strong emotion for me, it was like reactivating a connection with someone”.
The new technology is presented [...]