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MEDICA Magazine. Archive. Prosthesis.  Nerve-Muscle Interface
Could Improve Prosthetic  Nerve-Muscle Interface Could Improve
Prosthetic  Hand holding and touching a rose  The researchers
aimed to overcome the shortcomings of existing robotic
prosthetics, which have only limited motor control, provide no
sensory feedback and can be uncomfortable and cumbersome to
wear. “Most of these individuals are typically using a
prosthesis design that was developed decades ago,” Paul S.
Cederna, one of the principal investigators, said. “This effort
is to make a prosthesis that moves like a normal hand.”  When a
hand is amputated, the nerve endings in the arm continue to
sprout branches, growing a mass of nerve fibers that send flawed
signals back to the brain. The researchers created what they
called a “bio-artificial neuromuscular junction,” composed of
muscle cells and a nano-sized polymer placed on