First-in-human implementation of a bidirectional somatosensory neuroprosthetic system with wireless communication.
Sedona R Cady, Joris M Lambrecht, Karina T Dsouza and 6 others
PMID 40269935WHAT IT FOUND
Two men with arm amputations tested a wireless nerve implant for hand sensation and control.
The device worked and felt helpful to the user, but it did not improve his speed or accuracy on daily tasks compared to using the prosthesis without sensation.
Key findings
01The wireless implant successfully connected and provided stable nerve stimulation and muscle signal recording in two participants over several months.
02Adding sensory feedback to the prosthesis control did not improve the participant's performance on daily living tasks or his speed in a virtual environment.
03Despite no objective performance gain, the participant rated the sensory feedback as helpful for completing tasks.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only two participants were studied, and one was removed from the study early due to infection. The study was conducted in a laboratory setting, not in the patient's home. The prosthesis had only 3 degrees of freedom, far fewer than the natural hand. The outcome measures used (AM-ULA) may not be sensitive to the specific benefits of sensory feedback, such as reduced visual reliance. One participant had extensive prior experience with sensory implants, which may bias his subjective ratings.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the U.S. Government and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The authors are affiliated with the University of Utah and the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System. The text does not disclose commercial conflicts of interest with the specific device manufacturers (e.g., Mobius Bionics).
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that adding nerve stimulation to a prosthesis will automatically make a patient faster or more accurate at daily tasks. In this study, it did not improve performance scores and slightly slowed down virtual task completion, even though the user felt it was helpful.