UU of
S E N S O RY P E RC E P T I O N ‘ I T ’ S T RU LY A T R A N S F O R M AT I V E E X P E R I E N C E ’ b y Ca ro l i n e M o re to n
pa r t n e r s h i p : u n i v e r s i t y o f u ta h b i o e n g i n e e r i n g d e pa r t m e n t & d e f e n s e a d va n c e d r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s a g e n c y
Losing a hand is more than just losing the functionality that goes along with it. Often, it’s losing a piece of yourself. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is working to change that by developing a prosthetic that has both movement and a sense of touch. The aim of the artificial hand is to eliminate the pain of a phantom limb, which according to a DARPA press release affects 80 percent of amputees. Additionally, the hand will restore full functionality, eliminating the feeling of numbness that accompanies most prosthetics. DARPA is currently funding a number of small research teams, including one at the University of Utah, led by Gregory Clark, associate bioengineering professor. Though Clark’s team is not building the actual prosthetic or developing the wireless technology, they are studying the way patients interact with the hand. “One of the most moving components has been seeing people come into the lab and do things that, for the 15 or 20 years they have been missing their hand, they have not been able to do,” said Clark. “You see the poignant effect that has on them, and you see people who are feeling a missing part of their body come back to life again. It’s truly a transformative experience for them and for us to be able to return to them an important part of what they lost.” All of this team’s research is currently being done with virtual reality or with a simplified version of the hand, but they’re expecting to receive the more advanced version sometime soon. The technological breakthrough that cleared the path for this artificial hand was the Utah Electrode Array, developed by University of Utah bioengineering Professor Richard Normann. Now, Blackrock Microsystems, a Salt Lake Citybased startup, is building on that technology to manufacture the Utah Slanted Electrode Array, which allows the hand to communicate wirelessly with the brain. Another local company, Ripple LLC, is developing other aspects of the wireless technology required for the hand. Currently the Utah Slanted Electrode Array is still in development phases, but DARPA hopes to make it widely available in the future.
november
2016
(TOP) Subject controlling a virtual prosthetic hand to make the “rock and roll” sign. The neural control signals were recorded by Utah Slanted Electrode Arrays implanted in his remaining severed arm nerves after amputation of his hand. (MIDDLE) Close-up picture of USEA resting on a human finger. The 100 different electrodes provide selective recordings from and stimulation of nerve fibers. (ABOVE) Picture of Greg Clark holding a USEA. courtesy of university of utah va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y
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