Prosthetic Arm Technology That Detects Spinal Nerve Signals Developed by
  Scientists
From: ECN Magazine - 02/06/2017

Scientists have developed sensor technology for a robotic prosthetic arm that
detects signals from nerves in the spinal cord.

To control the prosthetic, the patient has to think like they are controlling
a phantom arm and imagine some simple manoeuvres, such as pinching two
fingers together. The sensor technology interprets the electrical signals
sent from spinal motor neurons and uses them as commands.

Dr Farina, from the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London,
said: "When an arm is amputated the nerve fibres and muscles are also
severed, which means that it is very difficult to get meaningful signals from
them to operate a prosthetic. We've tried a new approach, moving the focus
from muscles to the nervous system. This means that our technology can detect
and decode signals more clearly, opening up the possibility of robotic
prosthetics that could be far more intuitive and useful for patients. It is a
very exciting time to be in this field of research."

The next step will involve extensive clinical trials with a much wider cross
section of volunteers so that the technology can be made more robust.

Read the entire article at:
https://www.ecnmag.com/news/2017/02/prosthetic-arm-technology-detects-spinal-nerve-signals-developed-scientists
https://www.mdtmag.com/news/2017/02/prosthetic-arm-technology-detects-spinal-nerve-signals-developed-scientists

Links:
Prosthetic arm technology that detects spinal nerve signals developed by team
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_6-2-2017-13-48-49

Prosthetic Arm Technology Detects Spinal Nerve Signals
http://www.rdmag.com/news/2017/02/prosthetic-arm-technology-detects-spinal-nerve-signals

Institute of Neurorehabilitation Systems
http://www.neurorehabilitation-systems.de/1000/home

Human and Biological Robotics
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/bioengineering/research/human-robotics

Scientists Develop Prosthetic Arm Technology They Suggest Can Detect Signals
  from the Spinal Cord
http://www.rehabpub.com/2017/02/scientists-develop-prosthetic-arm-technology-suggest-can-detect-signals-spinal-cord