CHALLENGES TO DEVELOPING A NEURALLY CONTROLLED UPPER LIMB PROSTHESIS

Short of limb regeneration, an ideal prosthesis for amputees is one that is interfaced to peripheral nerve stumps. In this chapter, we discuss the feasibility of interfacing an artificial arm to human nerve stumps. In principle, the concept is simple and straightforward. In practice however, changes in the central and peripheral nervous system postaxotomy/amputation, the need for an interface that shows both electrochemical and mechanical biocompatibility, the potential for nerve injury, the need to record nerve impulses and stimulate sensory neurons over a period of years all add to our difficulties. These issues will be addressed together with a brief discussion on the progress to date with experiments involving human amputee subjects.