Bionic arm restores sense of feeling (BBC)
By James Gallagher
Health editor, BBC News website
Advances in bionic hands have restored a sense of touch to two patients for more than a year, report US scientists.
The men can now delicately pluck the stalks out of cherries.
Sensors on the artificial hand are used to send signals directly to the nerves, the study, published in Science Translational Medicine, said.
Meanwhile, a Swedish team has made a separate breakthrough in artificial limbs - anchoring bionic arms directly on to the bone to improve control.
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In both patients the modified hand had the added bonus of eliminating "phantom limb pain", in which patients still feel pain from the hand that is no longer there.
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more: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29538385
I wonder if the phantom limb problem could be overcome with a simpler procedure than is required for the full artificial limb ? Then patients could get relief of pain more quickly and cheaply.