Continuous neural control of a bionic limb restores biomimetic gait after amputation

Abstract

For centuries scientists and technologists have sought artificial leg replacements that fully capture the versatility of their intact biological counterparts. However, biological gait requires coordinated volitional and reflexive motor control by complex afferent and efferent neural interplay, making its neuroprosthetic emulation challenging after limb amputation. Here we hypothesize that continuous neural control of a bionic limb can restore biomimetic gait after below-knee amputation when residual muscle afferents are augmented. To test this hypothesis, we present a neuroprosthetic interface consisting of surgically connected, agonist–antagonist muscles including muscle-sensing electrodes. In a cohort of seven leg amputees, the interface is shown to augment residual muscle afferents by 18% of biologically intact values. Compared with a matched amputee cohort without the afferent augmentation, the maximum neuroprosthetic walking speed is increased by 41%, enabling equivalent peak speeds to persons without leg amputation. Further, this level of afferent augmentation enables biomimetic adaptation to various walking speeds and real-world environments, including slopes, stairs and obstructed pathways. Our results suggest that even a small augmentation of residual muscle afferents restores biomimetic gait under continuous neuromodulation in individuals with leg amputation.