In the first known study of how amputees use advanced sensory-enabled prostheses outside the lab, subjects used a mechanical hand more regularly and for longer periods of time compared to traditional prostheses—and also reported a greater sense of psychosocial well-being.

In fact, the study asserts that sensory feedback—achieved by direct interfaces attached to the nerves —fundamentally changed how the study participants used their mechanical attachment, “transforming it from a sporadically used tool into a readily and frequently used ‘hand.’”

The study, published in June in the journal Scientific Reports, was led by a pair of researchers from Case Western Reserve University, who collaborated with scientists from Brown University and partners at U.S. Veterans Affairs sites in Cleveland and Providence, Rhode Island… Continue reading.