Upper limb amputation is a devastating injury that leaves many thousands of typically young and active individuals in the US to rely on artificial arms and hands to help restore their lost function. The investigators research is focused on helping these individuals to feel where their prosthetic limbs are moving without having to look at them by developing devices and approaches to provide sensory feedback of limb movement through the nerves that once served the missing limb.
In the investigators research the investigators seek to understand the organization and (function/operation) of sensory neural systems in order to develop methods for restoring function to injured populations. One of the primary focus areas of the investigators research is working to integrate physiologically relevant sensory feedback with prosthetic limbs. To this end the investigators employ a variety of approaches that interweave disciplines such as electrophysiology, psychophysics, biomedical engineering and cognition. The investigators research team is composed of an interconnected and communicative network of clinicians, engineers, and scientists. This helps us to provide pathways from basic science discoveries that can be used to address clinical needs with transition directly to patient care.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
49
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Louis Stokes VA Medical Center
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
University of Alberta Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Embodiment of the Prosthetic limb
Visual loading for fine motor tasks,questionnaires, and residual limb temperature will be assessed after 10 months of in home every day use of a custom robust tactor array for sensory feedback.
Time frame: Ten months
Investigate the perceptions of limb movement
Test how closely both targeted reinnervation amputees and able bodied study participants are able to interpret limb movement using the kinesthetic perceptual illusion and physiologically relevant kinesthetic feedback.
Time frame: 6 months
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