Out on a Limb
By: Steve Steinberg, freelance writer living in Boston. 
From: PC Computing - April 2000 - page 188
http://www.pccomputing.com

Nowhere are the thumbprints of technology more visible than in the
advancements in prosthetic devices. Artificial arms, legs, feet, and hands
have been around for centuries, but electronics and computer science have
only recently gotten involved with the design of what had previously been
purely mechanical devices. 

The Hot and Cold and the Sense of Feel Sensory Systems created at Hanger
Prosthetics & Orthotics (http://www.hanger.com) are at the cutting edge of
prosthetic technology For the first time, an artificial limb can feel and
react to its environment. With the Hot and Cold system, signals sent from
temperature sensors in a prosthetic hand activate a temperature element
located on the surface of the skin where the prosthesis is attached. This
way, awearer can check the temperature of bathwater without, say, submerging
his entire head in the tub. The Sense of Feel system is even more impressive:
By using transducers located in the sole of an artificial foot, the brain can
sense roughly how much pressure is being applied to the different parts of
the foot. The result is that the wearer can balance, walk, and run more
easily. Both systems are in the patient-testing stage of development and not
yet publicly available.  

Caption: Thing Lives - Sabolich`s prosthetic hand can let the user actually
feel hot and cold.

http://www.novacaresabolich.com/hotandcold.html
http://www.novacaresabolich.com/sof.html