Efficacy of a Neural Interface for Potential Use in Limb Prosthetics

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Zanakis 9632962 One of the major technological problems in the use of advanced limb prosthetics is the inability of the user to control the prosthesis in a manner which can mimic normal function. When nerves are severed or disrupted, control over the limb is lost, even though the information for control may still be present in the portions of the nerves that were spared from damage or amputation. If that information can be used to operate the prosthesis, then better control of the artificial limb can be achieved. The proposed research examines the effectiveness of components designed to interface the peripheral nervous system with the electronic hardware of the prosthetics. The work will be performed utilizing a multi-electrode cable (MEC) device which uses muscle cells grown upon it in order to attract the nerves to regenerate toward the MEC. The interface will be able to detect signals from the nerves, decode the nerve impulses, and therefore control a prosthesis. The first part of the study will test this technology in rodents, to determine if cut nerves can be attracted to the MEC, and if the MEC can then decode signals from the nerve, particularly for long periods of time. Certain components of the rodent experiments have already been performed successfully, and a major goal of this study is to combine the many techniques and determine if the entire system performs as a unit. The results of this experiment are crucial to the refinement and increased utility of human limb prosthetics.