New prosthetic limb connects directly to user’s nervous system –

As technology becomes increasingly impressive and useful, we are seeing more unique ways to build prosthetic limbs. The latest method, documented in a Science Translational Medicine study, shows a look at a prosthetic limb that connects directly to the user’s nervous system, a method that aims to increase dexterity.

As Wired reports, this is a change from the usual method of attaching prosthetic limbs, which revolves around using other body parts, such as the shoulder, to connect the replacement limb. In terms of how this improves control for a user, it should allow them to perform much more complicated tasks, such as cutting a shirt on a clothesline.

This new method works by seeing the prosthesis drilled into the bone it is connected to, and then through a series of surgeries and bypasses, nerve endings are connected to the replacement limb, all so that it can register the electrical nerve signals sent from the brain to control the device. The whole process would have taken about six months.

Although it is still new technology with many hurdles to cross, seeing a patient who can move a robotic limb simply by thinking about it marks a very exciting development for the world of prosthetics.