Three Austrian men have become the first to be given mind-controlled artificial hands, it was announced today.
The patients had to spend nine months in training, learning the mental signals needed to control their new hands.
Their hands, damaged in accidents, were amputated and replaced with robotic hands.
Doctors say they enjoy improved movement in their hands, reduced pain and improved quality of life.
They have also been able to undertake every day tasks such as pouring water from a jug, using a key or a knife to cut food or simply undoing buttons, the researchers report in The Lancet.
Researcher Professor Oskar Aszmann, director of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Restoration of Extremity Function at the Medical University of Vienna, said: “So far, bionic reconstruction has only been done in our centre in Vienna. However, there are no technical or surgical limitations that would prevent this procedure from being done in centres with similar expertise and resources.”
Writing in the journal hand transplant specialist Professor Simon Kay, from Leeds, said the work was "encouraging."
He said: "The final verdict will depend on long-term outcomes, which should include assessment of in what circumstances and for what proportion of their day patients wear and use their prostheses.
"Compliance declines with time for all prostheses, and motorised prostheses are heavy, need power, and are often noisy, as well as demanding skilled repair when damaged.”
* British engineers have announced plans to build a prosthetic hand with a "realistic" sense of touch.
The hand will be able to detect pressure, shear and temperature. Some £1.4 million is to be put into the project at the universities of Newcastle, Essex, Keele, Southampton and Leeds together with Imperial College, London.
This would mean users being able to use the hand in a natural way, feeling for objects rather than having to look for them, developers say.
The project is being backed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Bionic reconstruction to restore hand function after brachial plexus injury: a case series of three patients. The Lancet 25 February 2015 [abstract]
Leave a Reply