Object Discrimination With an Artificial Hand Using Electrical Stimulation of Peripheral Tactile and Proprioceptive Pathways With Intrafascicular Electrodes

Abstract

Trans-radial amputee subjects were implanted with intrafascicular electrodes in the stumps of the median and ulnar nerves. Electrical stimulation through these electrodes was used to provide sensations of touch and finger position referred to the amputated hand. Two subjects were asked to identify different objects as to size and stiffness by manipulating them with a myo-electric hand without visual or auditory cues. Both subjects were provided with information about contact force with the objects via tactile sensations referred to their phantom hands. One subject, who was provided with information about finger position in the prosthetic hand via a different tactile sensation referred to his phantom hand, was unable to correctly identify the objects. The other subject, who received information about finger position via a proprioceptive sensation referred to his phantom hand, correctly identified the objects at a level statistically significantly above chance performance.

Humans can integrate feedback of discrete events in their sensorimotor control of a robotic hand

“…Feedback for prosthetic hands has traditionally been provided in a continuous fashion and with limited success, whether at body sites normally not involved in the motor task (Mann and Reimers 1970;Chatterjee et al 2008;Cipriani et al 2008;Saunders and Vijayakumar 2011;Stepp et al 2012) or by interfacing directly to neural structures normally involved in the control (i.e., afferent nerve fibers; Dhillon and Horch 2005;Rossini et al 2010;Horch et al 2011). For instance, Saunders and Vijayakumar (2011) provided continuous vibrotactile feedback related to grip force of a robot hand in an experimental setup similar to ours but failed to demonstrate any improved performance above that observed with visual feedback alone.…”

Personalized Neuroprosthetics

“…Likewise, intraneural peripheral electrodes have enabled some degree of specificity in the recruitment of peripheral nerve afferents ( Fig. 1F) (53,54). This technology has also been used to design neural interfaces in which grip information was decoded from electrical activity of forearm muscles [electromyography (EMG)] (Fig.…”

Neuroprosthetics: Once more, with feeling

“…He correctly identified the objects' size and softness more than twice as often as would have been expected by chance 5 . Information about force and finger position was delivered from the prosthetic to a computer, which prompted stimulation of electrodes implanted in his upper-arm nerves.…”