{"id":510886,"date":"2024-02-09T11:02:09","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T16:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/new-prosthetic-hand-can-sense-objects-temperature-drugs-com-mednews\/"},"modified":"2024-02-09T19:31:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T00:31:28","slug":"new-prosthetic-hand-can-sense-objects-temperature-drugs-com-mednews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/new-prosthetic-hand-can-sense-objects-temperature-drugs-com-mednews\/","title":{"rendered":"New Prosthetic Hand Can Sense Objects’ Temperature – Drugs.com MedNews","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm<\/a>. Last updated on Feb 9, 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter<\/p>\n

FRIDAY, Feb. 9, 2024 — Fabrizio wasn\u2019t sure what to expect of his newly outfitted prosthetic hand, until he touched one of the researchers who\u2019d given it to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen one of the researchers placed the sensor on his own body, I could feel the warmth of another person with my phantom hand,\u201d said Fabrizio, a 57-year-old man from Pistoia, Italy. \u201cIt was a very strong emotion for me, it was like reactivating a connection with someone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fabrizio — who lost his hand 37 years ago — experienced that sensation thanks to cutting-edge sensors installed in the prosthetic hand, according to a report published Feb. 9 in the journal Med<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Those sensors provide realistic and real-time thermal feedback to the wearer.<\/p>\n

With the hand, Fabrizio was able to discriminate between and manually sort objects of different temperatures. Researchers did not provide Fabrizio’s last name.<\/p>\n

This is the first time that natural temperature sensation has been incorporated into a functional artificial limb, the researchers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTemperature is one of the last frontiers to restoring sensation to robotic hands. For the first time, we\u2019re really close to restoring the full palette of sensations to amputees,\u201d said co-senior study author Silvestro Micera<\/a>, a professor of biorobotics research at the Sant\u2019Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy.<\/p>\n

The \u201cMiniTouch\u201d device uses off-the-shelf electronics and doesn\u2019t require any surgery to restore temperature sensation to patients, the researchers noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very simple idea that can be easily integrated into commercial prostheses,\u201d Micera said in a university news release.<\/p>\n

For the study, researchers linked the device to a point on Fabrizio\u2019s remaining forearm that caused him to experience thermal sensations from a phantom index finger.<\/p>\n

Using the MiniTouch, Fabrizio was able to discriminate with perfect accuracy between bottles containing water that was 53 degrees (cold), 75 degrees (cool) and 104 degrees Fahrenheit (hot), results show. Without the device, Fabrizio\u2019s accuracy fell to just 33%.<\/p>\n

Fabrizio also was able to differentiate while blindfolded between human and prosthetic arms with 80% accuracy, thanks to the sensation of warmth provided by the MiniTouch. Without the device, his accuracy fell to 60%.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdding temperature information makes the touch more human-like,\u201d said co-senior researcher Solaiman Shokur<\/a>, chair of translational neuroengineering with \u00c9cole Polytechnique F\u00e9d\u00e9rale de Lausanne in Switzerland. \u201cWe think having the ability to sense temperature will improve amputees\u2019 embodiment — the feeling that \u2018this hand is mine.\u2019”<\/p>\n

This sort of feedback is critical to creating a prosthetic hand that can perform as well as a real one, Shokur said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you reach a certain level of dexterity with robotic hands, you really need to have sensory feedback to really be able to use the robotic hand to its full potential,\u201d Shokur explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal now is to develop a multimodal system that integrates touch, proprioception [sense of self-movement] and temperature sensations,\u201d Shokur added. \u201cWith that type of system, people will be able to tell you \u2018this is soft and hot,\u2019 or \u2018this is hard and cold.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sources<\/h2>\n