Cork scientists are at the forefront of a world breakthrough in prosthetics with the creation of an artificial hand that can touch, feel, grip and hold

CORK SCIENTISTS are part of an international team that has developed a bionic hand that can touch, feel, grip and hold, representing a worldwide breakthrough in prosthetics.

The next generation artificial hand enables two-way communication between nerve impulses in the brain and sensors on the prosthetic, allowing amputees to feel sensations through the fingers and palm.

The Smart Hand is the result of a €1.8 million European Union-funded project, for which researchers at the Tyndall National Institute at University College Cork created the mechanism that links the movement and sensing of the hand to nerve endings in the body.

The aim of the project was to create a prosthetic hand capable of movement and sensory touch that mimics the human hand. The new prosthetic hand will improve the quality of life for amputees, enabling the activities of daily living to be performed in a more natural way.

Researchers have reported huge public interest in the project, which could greatly improve the scope of movement and strength for amputees.

Research teams from Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Israel and Denmark contributed to the project, led by Lund University in Sweden.

Head of the Life Sciences Interface Group at the Tyndall National Institute, Dr Paul Galvin, who took over the leadership of the project from John Alderman, said the Cork team’s input related to the creation of a connection between the nerve and the electronic mechanism that powers the hand.

“There are various prosthetics available, but none has the capability to be directly controlled by the brain. The Smart Hand has been designed with a view to match human sensing and movement as closely as possible,” he said.

“The aim was to create a next generation prosthetic hand, moving from prosthetics with limited capabilities to being able to interface directly with the brain.

“The intentions of the brain travel through the nerves to the prosthetic, and sensory information from the Smart Hand is also fed back to the brain in a two-way communication.”

The Cork-based group faced the challenge of connecting the device to biological nerve endings in a manner that damages neither the nerve nor the electronic mechanism.

The result is a flexible structure that wraps around the nerve cell like a cuff, creating a steady and enduring mode of contact.

“If you imagine the nerve as a cylindrical object, the challenge was how to link the electrical connections of the prosthetic to this. A rigid structure would not be successful, so the Tyndall group created a new flexible electrical connector device that wraps around the nerve tissue, connecting directly to the nerve,” Dr Galvin said.

The team used standard cell culture tests to develop a mechanism that would not be damaged by biological solutions surrounding the nerves.

The work, which began in 2006, took 39 months to complete.

However, while significant progress has been made, further developments and trials need to be conducted on various aspects before the bionic hand can be ready for use by amputees.

“As a research project it is essentially complete and has successful demonstrated the concept, but it must now go through a phase of optimisation and trials before it will be available for use by patients,” Dr Galvin said.