New technology will allow amputees to feel heat or cold on their prosthetic limbs thanks to sensors created by Swiss and Italian researchers.
“What is particularly important is that patients perceive phantom thermal sensations in the same way as their intact hand,” one of the researchers explained in a press release, according to the report. Western France Friday.
This technology uses thermal electrodes called “thermodes” that are placed on the fingertips of the prosthesis and attached to the skin of the arm, allowing the sensation of heat or cold to be transmitted to the brain via the nervous system.
French media reported that the Swiss team from the École Polytechnique de Lausanne (EPFL), in partnership with Italian researchers, would have identified specific areas of the arm that would be connected, in some way, to parts of the phantom limb.
The regions differ, however, for each individual, the researchers had outlined in a scientific article published in the journal science. For the time being, the latter will try to improve the accuracy of sensations while developing a device that is suitable for everyone.
Currently, the MiniTouch technology has shown conclusive results in 17 patients out of the 27 evaluated.
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