By applying heat or cold in certain locations on the upper arm, an adapted prosthetic with sensors can give people with an amputation the sensation of temperature in their phantom limb
By James Woodford
9 February 2024
Fabrizio Fidati tests the temperature-sensitive prosthetic arm
EPFL Caillet
A man who had his right arm amputated below the elbow has been able to feel hot and cold in his missing hand via a modified prosthetic arm with thermal sensors.
After an amputation, some people can still perceive touch and pain sensations in their missing arm or leg, known as a phantom limb. Sometimes, these sensations can be triggered by nerve endings in the residual upper limb.
Advertisement
Read more
The future of AI: The 5 possible scenarios, from utopia to extinction
The prosthetic works by applying heat or cold to the skin on the upper arm in specific locations that trigger a thermal sensation in the phantom hand.
“In a previous study, we have shown the existence of these spots in the majority of amputee patients that we have treated,” says Solaiman Shokur at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.