Powered prosthetic hands and arms have advanced little in the last 50 years. Their appearance and structure have improved, but advances in underlying function and control have been harder to come by.
In a pair of studies published in Science Translational Medicine1, 2, researchers now report major advances in two areas: guiding prosthetic limbs with realistic tactile feedback, and delivering reliable motor commands.
"They are both addressing big limitations that current prostheses have," says Kevin Otto, a biomedical engineer at the University of Florida in Gainesville.