In recent years, the world has witnessed the birth of a series of useful prosthetic inventions such as 3D robotic arms or “imaginary” limbs controlled by the brain.
Researchers have recently succeeded in developing a prosthetic leg that can “feel”, not only simply mimicking some of the ordinary sensations of a leg but also helping to ease phantom pain in the lost part of the body of many people with disabilities.
This prosthetic leg is the “brainchild” of the Austrian scientist, Professor Hubert Egger from the University of Linz, who was praised in the press for his brain-controlled prosthetic arm invented five years ago. Although it will be a long time before we can admire his latest creation, a person with a disability who had the chance to spend six months testing this new invention has told the media about the wonderful capabilities of the prosthetic leg:
An Austrian scientist’s product.
“I feel as if I have been reborn”, Wolfgang Rangger shared. “It feels like I have an extra leg. I no longer slip and fall on ice, and now I can sense and tell whether I am walking on gravel, concrete, grass or sand. I can even feel every little stone”.
In recent years, the world has witnessed the birth of a series of useful prosthetic inventions such as 3D robotic arms or “imaginary” limbs controlled by the brain. However, these inventions have a major drawback: they cannot restore the feeling of the lost limb to the user. To overcome this problem, Egger developed a two-stage process.
Prosthetic body parts are helping many people with disabilities.
First, the surgeon will re-stimulate the nervous system of the person with a disability by connecting the nerve endings that have been numb for a long time to an area of healthy tissue just below the surface of the skin. Next, the heel of the prosthetic leg will be fitted with a series of sensors connected to the amputated limb. This means that information gathered by the sensors is transmitted directly to the brain with every step.
Egger explained, “In a healthy foot, the receptors in the skin perform that function, but this is clearly impossible for people with disabilities. However, the channels of information, or nerves, are always there. They are simply not stimulated. The sensors “tell” the brain that it has a new leg, and the user will feel the foot lift off the ground with every step. In short, based on the results obtained, this is a very simple and easy-to-understand process“.
Another wonderful effect of this prosthetic leg is that it reduces “phantom pain”, the feeling of pain in a lost arm or leg of a person with a disability. This phenomenon is partly thought to be a product of the brain trying to adjust to the missing limb, creating mixed signals. With this prosthetic leg, the brain will be able to receive sensory signals from the limbs, and as a result the pain will gradually disappear because the brain no longer needs to search for information.
Aesthetics are also extremely important.
Another plus for this invention is that the surgical procedures carry very little risk. As Egger explained, the only risk is when the nerves do not connect properly, and as a result the “real” sensations cannot reach the patient.
Although the cost of one of these prosthetic legs is as much as 11,000 USD, it is still hoped that the price will gradually fall with each technological improvement. Finally, Egger hopes that this project can improve the lives of people with disabilities all over the world.
According to IFLScience