A new push in the area of prosthetic technology has certainly provided a variety of new devices to the market place as well as some incredible works in progress.  One such project is the SmartHand.  This prosthetic hand is a complex prosthesis with four motors and 40 sensors which combine to provide realistic motion and even sense to the wearer. It is the first device that sends signals back to the wearer allowing them to actually have sensation again.

The SmartHand is a highly innovative project which combines information technologies with cognitive neuroscience in developing a prosthetic hand which displays all the basic features of a real human hand.  The makers of this Smart Hand stated that electrical stimulation of the nerves has a positive and pain killing effect (think TENS unit for example). They believe that a neural interface with recording and stimulating capabilities could improve the quality of life and relieve phantom pain.

The developers of this artificial hand are from Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Israel, Ireland and even Iceland.  Their expertise ranges from electrical engineering, orthopedic hand surgeons, robotic specialists, cognitive processing specialists, biomechanics, and mechanical engineering.

Phantom limb sensations are the feelings that an amputee still has their missing body part.  The brain remains open to receiving input from the nerves which were severed.  Impulses from the brain still travel down to the missing limb as well.  These scientists are developing electronic sensors to pick up signals and relay them to the mechanical hand.  The goal of the SmartHand is to create a replacement limb that is as near to identical as the lost one.

While this is an exciting project, there is still much work to be done.  The current SmartHand still lacks motion in comparison with a human hand and also lacks strength.  The sensation provided is new and could open another host of opportunity, but is still far from the sensations provided by the millions of nerves in your own God given hand.

The SmartHand is still a project in the works after ten years.  To see a video on the development, check out this YouTube clip.

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