Dextra

Project description

Problem

Loss of limb function effect 25 million globally, according to NHS approximately 5-6 000 major limb amputation are carried out in England every year. Upper Limb amputation such as removal of an arm, hand, and figure, are often carried out in young people as a result of serious injuries.
The loss or the genetic absence of an upper limb may seriously compromise the functional independence of a person in his/her daily living. Current prostheses are useful to overcome the restrictions that the lack of a limb implies and to provide the amputee with certain autonomy but due to the complex nature of the upper extremity, the acceptance of current devices is still below 50%. Many of these devices are often extremely expensive in the range from the £5000-£70000 or more and many afflicted persons in developing countries cannot afford to seek this type of treatment.

Solution

We designed a new and unique Ambidextrous robot arm, that allows the range of motion to be doubled compared to its counterpart. The uniqueness of this arm is in design, actuation, and control. With the ability to feel through artificial limbs, users regain more function and increasingly see the prosthetics as parts of their own bodies. So, in the next step of this project, patient will undergo a set of training, to train the brain adjust to new device and by sending feedback to and from the device, users sensation can be replicated, based on the initial results from experiment that was performed during 30 days on four participants. Findings of this study highlight that auditory signal may aid in registering a prosthetic in blind amputees by compensating for the loss of visual input.

A challenge of body-ownership illusion in the blind is the loss of vision which complicates the registration of a prosthetic. This study points the usefulness of using blindfolded subjects as a proxy to inform on best practice methods and effective strategies in dealing with PLS in the blind. Finally, proven that brain has ability to learn and capacity to remap itself and is response to the new signals. SGS experiment proved that illusion could appear faster and last long. Human senses can be retrieved using remaining senses and by rewiring brain map.