(8 March 2016) A technology that facilitates the development of prostheses with sensory capabilities exists. And it’s a great revolution that has a bit of Italy behind it. New bionic prostheses are now a little bit closer to being enhanced with the ability to transmit the sense of touch in real time and in a manner totally similar to the perception of people who have not undergone amputations. For the first time in the world, an amputee, the Danish Dennis Aabo Sørensen, recognized a texture using a bionic finger connected to electrodes implanted in his arm, above the stump, via surgery. Dennis Aabo Sørensen distinguished rough surfaces from smooth ones in 96% of tests. The new result was achieved by Italian scientists at the BioRobotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, described in the article published today in the scientific journal eLife, headed by Nobel laureate Randy Schekman. The research saw the collaboration of the University of Pisathe IRCSS San Raffaele Pisana, the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, and the Università Campus Bio-Medico in Rome. The technology sends sophisticated tactile information was developed by Professor Silvestro Micera and his research team at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, and at the Institute of BioRobotics of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa, by researcher Calogero Oddo and his team. The published study showed that, for the first time ever, an amputee perceived smooth or rough surfaces in real time. Because the nerves of non-amputated persons can also be stimulated via this technology without the need for surgery, further research on “bionic touch” technology for prosthesis can be developed in total safety, without recurring to unnecessary surgery. (Red)
