Biomimetic encoding model for restoring touch in bionic hands through a nerve interface.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Hand function can be restored in upper-limb amputees by equipping them with anthropomorphic prostheses controlled with signals from residual muscles. The dexterity of these bionic hands is severely limited in large part by the absence of tactile feedback about interactions with objects. We propose that, to the extent that artificial touch mimics its natural counterpart, these sensory signals will be more easily integrated into the motor plan for object manipulation.

Approach

We describe an approach to convey tactile feedback through electrical stimulation of the residual somatosensory nerves that mimics the aggregate activity of tactile fibers that would be produced in the nerve of a native hand during object interactions. Specifically, we build a parsimonious mode

SUBMITTER: Okorokova EV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6324178 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature