A recent Science Alert article discussed the future of prosthetics in the form of bionic limbs that fuse with the body. A 50-year-old Swedish woman lost her hand in a farming accident, and received a groundbreaking bionic hand that connects to her bones, muscles, and nerves. The technology created a human-machine interface, allowing her to regain a sense of touch and individual finger movement with a 95% success rate. After two decades without a right hand, Karin can now perform 80% of daily tasks, and her phantom pain significantly decreased.
The bionic hand, named Mia Hand, is anchored directly to her bone, making it comfortable and allowing consistent neural stimulation. Developed by the Italian company Prensilia and funded by the European Commission, the innovation holds promise for amputees and phantom limb pain relief. Lead researcher Max Ortiz Catalán is now assisting amputees in Ukraine. A video with more information can be seen here.
