Paralyzed Man Becomes First To ‘Feel’ With Sophisticated Hand Prosthetic
A man using prosthetics as part of DARPA's Revolutionizing Prosthetics program, started in 2006 DARPA Revolutionizing Prosthetics A 28-year-old man, paralyzed due to a spinal injury, was able to feel a physical sensation thanks to a hand prosthetic attached to his brain, DARPA announced on Friday. Though neuroprosthetics have become very advanced in recent years, enabling paralyzed patients to move their artificial limbs, this is the first experiment in which the connection worked the other way and the patient was able to regain some sense of touch. “We’ve completed the circuit,” DARPA program manager Justin Sanchez said in a press release. “By wiring a sense of touch from a mechanical hand directly into the brain, this work shows the potential for seamless bio-technological restoration of near-natural function.” Touch is one of our least-understood senses....